


Lenore

by Bunnie24



Category: The Following
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-05 23:34:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 32,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnie24/pseuds/Bunnie24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the Carroll case, Agent Mike Weston begins to pick up the pieces of his life and start over, but a part of his new life begins to prove to Mike that Joe Carroll isn't dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There were calls coming in left and right about this new killer on the loose, Mike wasn’t sure how much more he could take of all of it.  
It was getting to the point where Mike was fantasizing about going back to his apartment and getting some sleep, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get back until the early hours of the next day.  
“Weston,” he heard behind him.  
Mike turned around to see Agent Donovan approaching him, his eye patch giving him some swagger tonight—if that was even possible.  
“Call it a night, go home, get some sleep, we’ll take it from here.” Agent Donovan remarked.  
Mike cocked an eye brow “Are you sure, sir?”   
“Go home.” He demanded before walking away.   
Mike looked around his corner that he shared with four other agents before quietly getting up from his seat, grabbing his bag and coat, and walking out of the office.  
He made the long jog to his car in the cold, he never thought it could get any colder in D.C. but he did, and it annoyed him greatly.  
Mike started his car and turned the heat all the way up, letting his car idle for the moment to let everything heat up “I wish I was in San Diego.” He thought to himself.

 

He climbed up the three flights of stairs and sighed with joy as he finally reached his door; he jammed his key and unlocked the door only to find that it was unlocked.  
“That’s weird.” He muttered to himself as he opened the door and looked around.  
The kitchen lights were on, and he could hear someone messing around in there as well, he quietly entered his apartment and shut the door, he drew his gun and began the short walk to his kitchen.  
He aimed his guy at the intruder, only to sigh in relief and place his gun down when he saw her with a bag full of doggie boxes and the fridge door opened.  
She turned to face him “Hi.” She said concerned, putting the bag down on the counter “Thought you wouldn’t be home until later, so I figured I’d drop you off some dinner…or breakfast.” She said before looking at her watch.  
It was barely 11 at night.  
Mike put his gun back in his holster and smiled at the young woman, Sarah, his girlfriend of a little more than six months.  
“Hi.” He told her, before leaning in for a kiss.  
Sarah held his head in her hands “Everything okay?” she asked him.  
Mike nodded “Yeah, I just…it’s been a long day.” He said with a soft chuckle.  
Sarah pouted, giving him another kiss “Well, you’re done with work, so relax.” She said before turning back to the bag.  
“I thought you were working tonight.” He insinuated, getting himself a drink of water.  
Sarah nodded as she cut the bag open “I was, but they cancelled my shift.” She remarked, pulling the doggie boxes out of the bag and placing them on the counter.  
“Are you hungry?” she asked him, smiling at him gently.  
Mike took that moment to admire her, he was lucky to have found her when he did; in a pit of disappear still reeling from the Carroll incident.   
“Yeah.” He said with a gently nod, he took a sip of his water “So, how do you get your shift cancelled?” he asked.  
Sarah shrugged her shoulders as she grabbed two plates “I guess they were covered tonight.”   
“There can never be enough nurses in the E.R.” he told her.  
Sarah smirked “Well, tell that to my boss.” She said, placing two plates on the small table, and then the doggie boxes before sitting at the table across from Mike.  
Mike dug in immediately; Sarah hadn’t even gotten a bite in as she watched her agent boyfriend tear his Sweet and Sour Chicken apart.  
“Hungry?” she asked him.  
Mike realized what he was doing and slowed down, putting his fork down as he continued to chew his current bite.  
Sarah smiled at him “Pace yourself.” She told him before taking her first bite of dinner.  
“So, what happened at work today?” she asked him.   
Mike shook his head “Same old, same old…” he told her.  
“That’s rather vague.” She told him.  
Mike shrugged “Well, I can’t really talk about it. It’s supposed to be on the down low.” He said with his infamous smirk.  
Sarah eye balled him for a moment “Alright, I’ll let it go.” She remarked, beginning to catch up with Mike on her eating.

 

She was against the door, fighting dominance against Mike as their make-out session intensified; she finally pulled away to catch her breathe as Mike pressed his forehead against hers.  
“Stay.” He whispered to her.  
Sarah smiled “Stay?”   
Mike nodded “Yeah, stay.”  
“You need to sleep.” Sarah told Mike.  
“Then sleep with me.” Mike told her, watching a small smile form on her lips.  
Sarah sighed “Figuratively or literally?” she asked him.  
“Both.” He told her, now stroking her arms through her light cardigan.  
Sarah chuckled as she stroked his cheek “Oh, Mikey.” She muttered, letting a small smile escape her lips as she looked into his blue eyes.   
Mike took her hand and kissed it “I love you.” He confessed to her.  
This took Sarah by surprise, her nostrils flared and she stood up straight “You mean that?” she asked him.  
He nodded “Yeah.”   
Sarah smiled “I love you, too.” She told him before he pulled her in for another kiss. 

 

They rolled around in bed, enjoying each others warmth as they fought for dominance once again.  
Mike pinned her under him, having won the fight for dominance as he thrusted in and out of her furiously, listening to Sarahs’ moans and groans; she held onto his back, her nails almost digging into it.  
“Oh, Agent Weston.” She moaned, her hands roaming through his locks before she gave him another kiss.  
Mike smiled “I like that.” He told her between a thrust.  
“Oh yeah?” she asked him through labored breathe, her breasts against his chest as they rubbed together.  
Sarah bit her lip as Mike continued to thrust, both holding onto each other for dear life when they both heard the vibrations of a cell phone against a night table.  
She turned, seeing the brightly lit phone dancing along the table, Mike nudged her face with his chin before kissing her jaw line “Don’t worry about it.” He told her.  
“It’s your phone.” Sarah informed him.  
Mike shook his head as he kissed her again “I’ll let it go to voicemail.”  
“What if it’s important?” she asked him.  
Mike stopped mid thrust and looked down at Sarah, who went back and forth between looking up at him and glancing back to his cell phone.  
He groaned, getting off of Sarah and grabbed his cell phone, now sitting on the edge of his bed as he answered his phone.   
“This is Weston.” He answered.  
“Mike, it’s Agent Donovan, listen—we’ve got another dead body over on Porter Lane, think you could meet up with the team there?” he asked.  
Mike sighed as he turned to Sarah who was sitting up in the bed, covered with the bed sheets “Yeah, I’ll be there in about 15 minutes.” He said.  
“Good to hear.” Agent Donovan remarked before hanging up the phone.   
Mike hung up his phone and smiled at Sarah, he grabbed his briefs from the floor and put them on before getting up from his bed.  
Sarah smiled “Duty calls?” she asked.  
“Yes, it does.” Mike remarked, finding his clothing scattered on the floor.  
Sarah sighed “Well, I’m sorry.” She said, not moving from the warm bed.  
Mike looked over at her as he put his jeans back on “It’s okay. You were just looking out for me.” He comforted.  
Sarah sighed, counting down to get out of bed when Mike stopped her “Stay.” He told her, grabbing his shirt from off the floor.  
“Are you sure?” she asked.  
Mike nodded “Yeah, and we’ll continue this when I get back.”   
Sarah laughed “Yeah, sure.”  
“I mean it!” Mike insisted.  
Sarah smiled, reaching out for him as he walked towards her and took her hand “…Mike, you need to sleep.” She told him.  
Mike sighed, kissing her hand “And I will…after I’m done with you.” He said flirtatiously.  
He leaned down to kiss his girlfriend “I love you.”   
Sarah smiled “I love you.” She muttered.  
Mike nodded “I’ll be back later.” He said, walking out of his bedroom, grabbing his bag and jacket and leaving the apartment, leaving Sarah alone.


	2. Chapter 2

“Agent Weston!” he heard several times as he made his way towards the body, he wish he had listened to Sarah when she told him to sleep because he was exhausted.  
Mike wasn’t even sure he could lift a finger as he stopped in front of the gruesomely looking body.  
“Holy shit.” He muttered to himself as he knelt down at the body.  
A small posse came up behind him, several shadows blocking his view of the body “…can you guys just step back a few feet?” he asked.   
The newbies all took a step back, giving Mike his light back and a good view of the body; Agent Donovan and Agent Kurrick stood on either side of him.  
“It’s the same guy, however killed her…it definitely his M.O.” Mike remarked before standing back up.  
Agent Donovan nodded, putting his hands in his pockets “Agent Mitchell is gathering the feed from the security cameras nearby, I’m hoping we’ll be able to find something.”   
“Highly unlikely,” Mike remarked, turning to his superior office “…we haven’t been able to track this guy down for months, he’s good at hiding.”   
Agent Donovan hummed as he turned to Mike, who gave the body one last look before walking away and towards Deidre who was typing away at her computer.   
“So, how was your break?” Deidre asked almost sarcastically, not looking away from her laptop.   
Mike smirked “It was fine.”  
Deidre chuckled “Fine?...with that tone it seems more than just ‘fine’.”  
“I’m not telling you my exploits!”  
“OH! Sarah was over. Good for you!” Deidre remarked, finally looking away from her laptop and at Mike, who was glaring at her.  
Deidre sighed “But seriously, I can’t see anyone in the footage that looks suspicious, but…” she turned back to her laptop, enlarged the video and showed Mike the faint showed hiding on the edge of the video.  
“Could that be our guy?” Mike asked her.  
“Possibly, I can’t get anything definitive, but it’s something.” Deidre remarked.   
Mike nodded “Alright, thanks, Mitchell.” 

 

The sun was rising as Mike finally walked into his apartment door, literally; Mike huffed as he unlocked his door and entered the empty apartment.  
He grumbled to himself as he dropped his keys, bag, and jackets and fell into his bed; he welcomed the soft sheet and the potential warmth as he moaned as he began to drift off into sleep.  
It was in his semi-slumber when he felt a vibration in his pants, Mikes’ eyes shot open as he groaned.  
“No!” he remarked, rolling onto his back and taking his cell phone out of his pocket and checked to see who it was.   
Ryan Hardy.  
Mike fought himself before grumbling and answering the call “Hi.” He muttered.  
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Ryan asked on the other en.  
“No, I just got home from a very long night.” He muttered softly.  
Mike could hear Ryan lightly gasp on the other end “Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I’ll make this quick—but I’ll call you back when I got off from work: are you and Sarah still meeting Lily and I for dinner on Friday?” he asked.  
The young agent thought for a moment, trying to remember what day it was when it sighed “Uh, yeah, I think we are.” He said.  
“Alright, awesome! I’ll call you later to make sure…since…y’know.” Ryan remarked coyly.  
Mike grumbled “Right, yeah, thanks. Goodnight, Ryan.” He said before hanging up the phone and gently dropping in onto the floor.   
He kicked his boots off and pushed himself farther into the bed, wrapping his bed sheets around his body and face planted into his pillow, smelling a sweet smell.  
Mike couldn’t help but smile as he recognized Sarahs’ perfume, he realized that she wasn’t at the apartment like she said she would be.  
“Oh well, she was right…she always is!” he thought to himself as he began to drift off to sleep for the first time in 24 hours. 

 

He was alerted to the sound of a knock at his front door, his face jerking up from his pillow as another knock came.  
Mike fought hard for his body to get up and out of bed before zig-zagging his way to his front door and opened it swiftly.  
The look on Sarahs’ face was priceless, looking him up at down for a moment “How late were you out?” she asked him.  
Mike rubbed his eye as he thought “…I saw the sun rise as I pulled into the garage.” He mumbled.  
Sarah looked down at her watch and hummed “12 hours, new record.” She announced before looking back up at her boyfriend.  
Mike sighed “You weren’t here when I got back.” He murmured.  
She smiled “I got called in at 3.” She said before walking into the apartment and tripping over his bag.  
Sarah huffed, picking up his belongings that he had dropped on the floor when he came home “…well, the sun is setting now, time to enjoy the night life!” she told him as she threw his stuff on the couch.  
Mike smiled as he closed the door and stared at her “What did you have in mind?” he asked her.  
Sarah began walking around his apartment, cleaning up his mess; he followed her as she did “I was thinking a movie, maybe sit down for dinner. Maybe both.” She suggested.  
Mike stopped Sarah as she bent down to pick up his phone, he turned her to face him as she looked down at his phone, she smirked as she looked up at him “You have two missed calls, and five text messages.” She said before handing him his phone.  
“That’s not good.” He muttered, turning away as he got into his phone.  
He listened to the one voicemail from Ryan, reminding him about dinner with his new lady love and read the five text messages from Deidre and other co-workers.   
“Well, I haven’t eaten in over twelve hours, so dinner it is! Also, speaking of dinner, we are going out to dinner Friday night with my friend, Ryan, and his new girlfriend.” Mike told her.  
Sarah nodded “Okay, sounds cool.” She remarked, walking back into the living room and grabbing Mikes’ jacket.  
Mike grumbled “Could you at least give me thirty minutes to wake up, and brush me teeth…maybe change my clothes?” he asked her.  
Sarah giggled “Okay, then get ready Mr. Agent Man!” she said.   
Mike shook his head, he was still trying to wake up and couldn’t bother with Sarahs’ playfulness.


	3. Chapter 3

He tried his best to not inhaul his food in front of Sarah, who was quietly nibbling on her dinner, giving her boyfriend enough time to deflate from his day.  
Mike cleared his throat “So, how was work?”   
“It was busy.” Sarah simply remarked “How was yours?” she asked in return.  
The agent shrugged “It is what it is.” He mumbled.  
Sarah glared at him, putting her fork down and adjusting herself in her chair “Mike?” she whispered, getting his attention.  
He put his fork down as well, he knew this look well; her ‘concerned’ look. He’d been getting it a lot from her lately.  
“Sarah, I’m fine.” He told her.  
Sarah sighed heavily, shaking her head “It doesn’t seem like. It seems like every time I see you, this case—whatever it is, it takes a piece of you with it.”   
Mike reached out for her hand “Sarah, I am fine. I am. If I wasn’t, you would know. Trust me!” he assured her, stroking her hand with his thumb.  
A smile finally escaped her lips, Mike took his hand back and they both went back to eating their dinner but with more casual talk than silence.

 

He looked over his shoulder periodically at her as she slept in his bed, he didn’t want his working affect her sleep.  
Mike looked over the crime scene photos closely, observing every little detail of the victims’ body, trying to find a clue that would expose who this menace was.  
But there was nothing. This guy was good.   
“Babe?” he heard behind him.  
Mike turned to see Sarah sitting up in bed, staring at him with groggy eyes “Yeah?”   
“What are you doing?” she asked him.  
“Lie! Lie through your fucking teeth!” Mike thought to himself, gently shaking his head “Nothing.” He muttered.  
Sarah tilted her head “Michael Emerson Weston. It is two in the morning—stop it!” she nearly hissed before laying back down in bed.  
A twinge of guilt hit him, he didn’t like lying to her—it wasn’t fair. She never lied to him; she was open to him about her job, what she was doing, or where she was.   
He huffed, closing the laptop and getting off the couch and walking towards his bed to sleep if just for a few hours.   
Mike cuddled with Sarah, taunting her a little by rubbing his scruff against her cheek; she scoffed; gently pushing him away.  
“Stop it!” she said with a faint smile.  
He kissed her shoulder and held her close, he couldn’t believe how deep of a hole he was in 6 months ago; in a way, she saved him.   
Mike honestly didn’t know what she saw in him, but he was thankful that whatever it was, she liked it, he loved her patience and understanding, and he was never going to let her go; at least, that was the plan.  
He held her tight as he drifted off to sleep when a loud bang was heard at his front door, they both shot up; Sarah in a slight panic “What the hell was that?” she asked.  
Mike grabbed his gun from his night table and got out of bed, motioning Sarah to stay put in bed; the agent walked to his front door and slowly looked through his peep hole: nothing.  
He saw nothing, but he knew that just because he didn’t see anything, that there wasn’t anything out there waiting for him.  
“Mike?” Sarah called out, tilting out from under the covers when Mike pointed to her.  
“Stay!” he commanded her.  
Sarah sighed, getting back under the covers, watching Mike as he debated opening his front door; he placed his ear against it to listen for any sound, but there wasn’t any.  
Mike took a deep breathe, his heart racing as he unbolted his door and quickly opened it, his gun aimed at whatever was on the other side of his door.   
The hall was empty. Mike stood out in the hall exposed, finding no one and nothing nearby or down the hall at all.  
“…maybe it was a drunk person…or that cat from 3 door over—fucking hate that thing!” he thought to himself before turning back inside his apartment when he saw it.  
The blood red words painted on his apartment door: Lenore.  
He felt his stomach drop as he looked at the graffiti on his door, he wondered to himself who to call from his until, if anyone at all. 

 

Mike nearly stomped back into his apartment and to his night table where his phone was charging; he put his gun down and began dialing the headquarters.  
“Mike, what is it? What’s going on?” Sarah asked, looking at her boyfriend in distress.   
He unintentionally ignored her as he listened to the dial tone until the receptionist picked up the phone; in his mind, he went through his list of superiors but deep down he knew who exactly to call.  
“This is Agent Donovan.”   
“Donovan, it’s Weston. Listen, I’ve just got some graffiti on my door.”   
“Well, then call the local police, what are you calling me for?”   
“…it’s Carroll related.” Mike simply said.  
The line went silent for a moment, Mike wasn’t sure if Donovan had hung up or if he was thinking.  
“Okay, I’ll have a team out there in about 30 minutes.” He remarked, not saying anything more before hanging up his phone.   
Mike put his phone down, turning to Sarah who was gripping the bed sheets as she waited for Mike to say something to her.  
“It’s nothing to worry about.” He assured her.  
“Nothing to worry about? Mike, tell me what’s going on…this isn’t funny!” Sarah remarked, not taking Mikes’ words lightly.  
Mike sat next to her and took her hand “…so, a pervious case that I worked on, might be coming back to haunt me.”   
“Haunt you?” Sarah asked confused.  
Mike shrugged “It’s hard to explain.”   
“…how is it hard to explain? Michael, just tell me!” Sarah said.  
Mike stroked his hand with his thumb, trying to calm her down as he tried to figure out where to start with his involvement in the Joe Carroll case.


	4. Chapter 4

FBI agents began swarming the apartment as they focused mainly on the door but would occasionally come in to speak with Mike.   
Sarah was wrapped in a blanket inside the apartment, still on the bed as she watched her boyfriends’ co-workers surround every inch of the place.  
“Lenore. I wonder what it means.” An agent asked to themselves.  
Mike stood next to the agent “It’s another one of Poes’ work.” He simply said, stating the obvious.  
Agent Donovan had appeared out of thin air behind Mike “Well, please Agent Weston, continue.”   
“Lenore is about the death of a young woman, obviously. It’s about loss of love, it’s about…” Mike began trailing off as a light bulb went off in his mind, he walked back into his apartment and stared at Sarah who was still keeping to herself.  
“Oh, no.” Mike muttered to himself.  
Agent Donovan followed him, looking at Mike, then following his eyes to Sarah.  
“What are you thinking, Agent?” Donovan asked.  
Mike huffed “…they’re threatening Sarah.” He muttered.  
Agent Donovan looked at Sarah “…you really think that?” he asked.  
Mike turned to his superior “Yes. Lenore is about the death of a young woman. It’s about hypocrisy, and it’s about the tragedy of an early death.” He remarked.  
Agent Donovan cocked an eye brow “…and how does Sarah fit into all of this?” he asked.  
He shrugged his shoulders “I—it’s hard to explain. But why would somebody write ‘Lenore’ on my door otherwise?”   
Agent Donovan crossed his arms, looking back at the young agent, and at his lady love, then back to him.  
“We’ll assign an agent to her, watch out for her until we catch the guy.” Donovan assured.  
Mike turned his back to Sarah “Did they get any prints off the door?” he asked.  
“…just a few partials, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to pin them down to any one person.” Agent Donovan remarked.  
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Sarah began calling out for Mike, the agent excused himself and walked over to her.  
“Look, I have to be at work in about 4 hours. I’m gonna go back to my place and try and get some sleep.” Sarah told him.  
Mike nodded “Yeah, okay. Listen, just for safety reasons, you’re going to be assigned an agent to look after you until this gets sorted out.”  
A look of fear struck Sarahs’ face, Mike took her hand “Everything is fine, it’s just in case.”   
“Just in case of what, Michael??” Sarah asked sternly.   
Mike avoided the question, looking away from Sarah who was becoming furious as Mike refused to respond.  
“Michael, you tell me what’s going on or it’s over!” Sarah threatened.   
He began stammering, he couldn’t bring himself to tell Sarah the truth; she shook her head at him “Y’know, Ignorance isn’t always Bliss, Michael.” She hissed, throwing the blanket on his bed and walking past him.  
“Sarah, I’m sorry.” He said, watching her walk past him.  
“Whatever, Weston.” She hissed again, grabbing her purse off the couch and storming out of the apartment, passing all the agents as she left.   
Mike mentally face palmed himself, standing in his apartment; he just hoped that none of the agents had over heard their argument. 

 

“I’m sorry about that, man.” Ryan said on the other end of the phone.   
Mike grumbled, lying back in his bed “I just—I don’t know why I can’t be honest with her when it comes to work. She’s a nurse, I know she can take it!”   
“You love her. You want her to feel safe.” Ryan said, trying to comfort his friend.  
Mike took a deep breathe in “I do.” He admitted.   
Ryan chuckled “Look, just give her a few days, she’ll be back.” He remarked.   
Mike sighed “I hope your right.” He said, hearing a beeping in his phone, he pulled his ear away from his phone to see Agent Donovan was calling him.  
He put his phone back to his ear “Hey, um, work is calling…I’ll have to call you back.” He remarked.  
“No, rush. Talk to you later, buddy.” Ryan remarked before hanging up the phone.  
Mike went to the next call “Yes, sir.”   
“Agent Weston, we just got a call from one of our agents at George Washington University Hospital, we have another victim.” Agent Donovan remarked.  
Mike sat up in his bed “I’ll be right there.” He said, hanging up his phone, grabbing everything he needed before heading out to the hospital.

 

He walked into the hospital with several agents standing around the lobby, Mike pushed past the agents and forward where he found Agent Donovan.  
“Ok, so what’s the story?” Mike asked.  
The superior huffed “Rebecca Hancock, 26, somebody tortured her and then dropped her body off in the hospital parking lot. She was alive when staff found her and brought her in, but she died from her injuries about 30 minutes ago.” He stated.  
Mike nodded “So is somebody examining the body or what?”  
Agent Donovan nodded “Yes.”   
“And do we have a list of the staff?” Mike asked.  
He nodded “Yes, but we’ve already got some agents talking with them. Plus, I advise that you do not talk with any of the staff that was working on the victim.”  
“Why not?” Mike asked, raising an eye brow.  
“One of the nurses was Sarah Greene.” He remarked before walking away.   
Sarah? His Sarah? Well not so much his Sarah, not anymore. Mike sighed, walking further into the hospital in hopes of finding Sarah.

Mike walked around the halls for what felt like forever, looking in every window to see if she was in all of them, when he found her in the break room, sitting on a couch.  
He opened the door gently, getting her attention as she removed her hands from her face to expose her face; it had been obvious she was crying.  
“Hi.” She simply said.  
Mike cleared his throat “Hi.” He said, slowly walking towards her before sitting down on the couch next to Sarah.   
Sarah was trying to contain herself, Mike knew that silence was probably the best option for awhile as he took her hand and stroked it.  
She began to cry again “I tried, Mike. I tried to save her.” She remarked.  
Mike was still in silence as he put his arm around her and pulled her close to him “I know you did. But this wasn’t your fault.” He assured her.  
Sarah huffed, trying to stop herself from crying, she wiped tears away as he kissed her forehead, trying to comfort her.  
She turned to him “You should get back to work.” She told him.  
Mike shook his head “No, I’m gonna stick with you for awhile.”  
Sarah smiled “I’ll be fine, Mike. Just go.” She said, patting his thigh.  
“Listen, Sarah, I--” she interrupted him.  
“No. It’s okay. Agent Harris told me everything. I can understand where you’re coming from with this.” She said, assuring him.  
Mike nodded “Okay.”   
They sat in silence for a moment, Mike holding Sarah when she finally pulled away and sighed “I’m gonna get back to work. I’ll text you when I get off.” She said, getting up off the couch.  
“I’ll be around for awhile…probably, most likely.” He said.  
Sarah smiled “Good.” She said before leaving the break room.  
Mike sat there alone for a moment, his worst fear had come true; his personal life and his work life had collided, and he wasn’t sure if it would all recover.


	5. Chapter 5

Friday came sooner than expected as Mike and Sarah sat across from Ryan and his new love, Lily, the four of them sitting in silence for a moment as they all became comfortable with each other.  
“So, Ryan, how did you and Lily meet?” Sarah finally asked, taking a sip of her cocktail.  
Ryan and Lily looked at each other and chuckled “Well, we met at a crime scene.” He remarked.  
Sarah smiled “Oh, that sounds romantic.” She said with a light chuckle.  
Lily shrugged “I was in distress, and there he was to save the day.” She continued.  
Ryan nodded at Sarah “Well, how did you two meet?” he asked in return.  
“Um.” Sarah turned to Mike, who was smiling at her “We met at the E.R.” she said, nodding to herself before turning back to Ryan and Lily.  
“He kept coming in for stitches and MRIs due to his work injuries almost every day, and one day he was just like ‘hey, maybe you’d like to go get a cup of coffee with me instead of stitching me back together sometime’ and yeah…” she remarked.  
Ryan turned to Mike and nodded in approval “Nice!” he remarked.  
Mike shrugged “I try.” He said before chuckling.  
Sarah smirked, sitting back in her chair and turned to look outside in the busy New York streets, making eyes with a man in a hoodie outside who was looking in.  
Mike looked over at her and saw the distracted look on her face “Babe?” he asked before following her eyes to the man outside.  
“Do you know him?” Mike asked her.  
Sarah shook her head “No. There’s just something not right about him.” She muttered.  
“You want me to go check it out?” Mike asked her.  
She shook her head again, placing her hand on his shoulder “No. It’s okay.” She said, turning her attention back to the table.   
“I’m sorry, these past few days have been unusual.” Sarah admitted to Ryan and Lily; Ryan nodded in understanding.  
“No, Mike was telling me about what happened Wednesday night. That must’ve been frightening.” Ryan said.  
Sarah nodded “Yeah, it was.” She said before turning to Mike, who smiled and took her hand in his.

 

They walked into Mikes’ apartment with giddy smiles and laughs escaping their lips; Mike was a bit tipsy after not paying attention to how many beers he was drinking.  
Sarah walked him over to the bed and sitting him down as his feet began to stumble throughout the apartment, she smirked as she finally sat him down and he wrapped his arms around her waist.  
“We should have a baby!” he said in his lightly drunken state.  
Sarah chuckled “What?”   
“We should have a baby!” he repeated.  
“Oh, really? And who is going to take care of said baby?” she asked with a faint smile.  
Mike looked up at her “We will.”   
Sarah let a small laugh escape her lips “Oh, yeah? And how is that going to work what with you chasing bad guys all the time and me having an unpredictable schedule?” she asked him.  
Mike leaned his head against her stomach as he thought for a moment “I’ll transfer to a less stressful job, and you’ll join a small practice.” He said, smiling at his thought.  
Sarah grumbled as she fell face first into the bed, then turning her head towards Mike who gently fell back into the bed next to Sarah.  
“You’re drunk.” She accused him.  
Mike shrugged “So what if I am?”   
Sarah sighed, rolling onto her back and looking up at the dark ceiling; Mike took her hand in his and stroked it with his thumb “Did I scare you with my deep thought?” he asked in an almost taunting way.  
She playfully eyeballed him before nodding “A little.” She remarked, taking a deep breathe in “…I just figured we’d be talking about stuff like that y’know, a year into our relationship…not 6 months.” She admitted, her voice getting soft.  
Mike swallowed hard, slightly sobering up “Do…do you see a future with me?” he asked her.  
Sarah stared him down, her breathing slightly becoming shallow before nodding her head “Yeah. I do.” She told him.  
“But it’s not pretty, or neat.” She confessed to him.  
Mike sighed “I know.” He said before looking up at the ceiling.  
Sarah scooted closer to Mike “I’m sorry, did I scare you with my deep thought?” she asked in return.  
Mike chuckled “No. I just…just a different type of reality; I’m not used to personal reality.”   
“Personal reality?” she asked him.  
“Yeah. I’m so used to work, and people and murder…and stuff like that. That is my reality. But then, I come home, and you’re here and we talk about a future, and marriage and kids…and I don’t know what to do with that. It’s like my brain shuts off.” Mike told her.  
Sarah sat up on the bed, twisting her body towards Mike “Mike, you are one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met, and you are such an amazing person. And I know that sometimes, I get impatient with you, but I’m hoping to stick it out with you for awhile. I’m not ready for all that serious commitment shit yet.” She told him.  
“…but I think at some point, I will be, with you.” She admitted to him.  
Mike sat up on his bed and looked at her “You mean that?” he asked her.  
Sarah gently nodded “I love you, Mike. I probably should have been the first one to say it, but I do.”   
“Sarah, I loved you from the first moment I saw you.” The young agent confessed.  
She blushed, looking down at the bed sheets and pulling on loose threads before Mike gently forced her to face him “And I will wait, as long as it takes you. Whether it be another six months or 6 years.” He comforted her.  
Sarah smiled, kissing him gently before looking down at her watch “I gotta go. I have a shift at 9 in the morning, and I’d like to get at least 8 hours.” She told him.  
She stood up from the bed and Mike followed suit “Yeah, besides, I think your agent escort doesn’t want to stand out by my door all night.” He told her.  
Mike walked her to the door and opened it, giving her another kiss before she walked out then turned back to face Mike “I’ll call you before work.” She said.  
“I look forward to it.” He said with a smile.  
Mike watched her walk down the hall and down the stairs with the random agent that was assigned to her before he shut the door.  
It had been a good talk, it had sadly been the most open he had been with her and he liked it; he hoped that they could have more conversations like that in the near future.


	6. Chapter 6

He was awoken in the middle of the night by his vibrating cell phone on his night table, he grumbled as he reached out and answered his phone.  
“This is Weston.” He mumbled.  
“Hey, it’s me.” Deidre said on the other line.  
Mike sat up in bed “What’s up?”  
“I’m calling you as a friend, not as a colleague right now.” Deidre responded, causing Mikes’ stomach to drop.  
He cleared his throat “Wha—what’s going on?” he asked her.  
“Agent Harris is dead…and Sarah is in the hospital.” Deidre told him in a very straight forward manner.   
“Oh my god.” Mike muttered, trying to wake up so he could get out of bed “Which hospital is she at?” he asked.  
“She’s at her hospital.”   
Mike pushed his sheets back and began to climb out of bed, stumbling for a bit before finding his center “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”  
He hung up his phone and dropped it in his jeans pocket before putting them on, his head was spinning and his heart was racing at the news he had just received; the threat came true, and his mind was trying to be a man and an agent at the same time.  
Mike finally put himself together and rushed out the door, not even bothering to locking it as he rushed down his hallway; he needed to get to the hospital, he needed to get to Sarah.

 

He walked down the bright white halls where agents were scattered around one room as he tried to squeeze his way through in when he finally saw her.  
It was almost like looking into a mirror as he examined every bruise and every stitch on her face and body.  
Mike took her hand as she slept while he pulled up a chair and sat next to her, the entire situation was all too familiar as the Carroll case came flooding back to him; he thought it was all behind him, but it clearly wasn’t as he looked at Sarah.  
“Weston,” he heard coming from behind him, he didn’t bother turn around as the man approached him.  
Agent Donovan looked over Sarah before turning to Mike “According to the doctors, she’s going to make it.” He told the young agent.  
Mikes’ nostrils flared as Agent Donovan kept talking and talking, he just wanted to punch him in the nose.  
“What do you want, Donovan?” Mike asked in a monotone voice.  
Agent Donovan sighed “…she said ‘tell Ryan Hardy…’ over and over again, she never finished the sentence.” He remarked.  
“…and what am I supposed to do with that?” he asked, getting more annoyed by the second.   
Agent Donovan shrugged “I don’t know, figured you would know what she was trying to say.” He remarked.  
Mike shook his head “No. I don’t know.” He remarked.  
Agent Donovan nodded “Okay, well, I’ll leave you alone then.” He said before walking out of the hospital room.

 

Mike sat there for hours, watching the sun rise from the window in front of him; he knew he had to leave to get ready for work but he honestly didn’t want to.  
Mid-thought, Sarahs’ eyes began to open slowly; Mike had turned to Sarah to witness her brown eyes appear after hours of nothing, and a light smile appeared on his face as he stood up from his seat.  
“Sarah?” he muttered, leaning towards her as her eyes completely opened.  
Sarah groaned, adjusting to the bright lights as she used her hand to shield her eyes for a moment as she looked over at Mike.  
“Michael.” She whispered.  
Mike smiled “Yeah, I’m here.”   
Sarah shook her head “…tell Ryan Hardy…” she said, taking a labored breathe for a moment “…tell Ryan Hardy that Joe Carroll lives.” She muttered.  
“…what?” he asked her.  
“Tell Ryan Hardy that Joe Carroll lives.” Sarah said again.  
Mike let the words sink in for a moment “Was he there? Did he do this to you?” he asked her in a rush.  
Sarah shook her head “No. No…he didn’t. He told me to give Ryan the message, or he’d come back.” She continued to say through labored breathe.  
Mike nodded “Okay. Okay.”  
“Don’t leave me.” She nearly begged him.  
“I’m not gonna leave you.” He said, taking her hand again and stroking it.  
Sarah turned away, closing her eyes to hide forming tears from making their way out, exposing themselves to Mike.  
“I won’t let him hurt you again. I promise.” He told her.  
Sarah sighed “I know.” She muttered, turning back to him softly.  
Mike looked down at her “I’m gonna go outside for just a second, and I’ll be right back, okay?” he said, gently taking his hand back before exiting the room.  
He saw an agent almost in front of him, nodding his head towards them to signal them to come over to him “Is Agent Donovan still here?” he asked.  
The fellow agent shook his head “No, he left a few hours ago.” He remarked.  
Mike nodded “Alright, thanks.” He said, walking away as he pulled his cell phone out and began dialing his superiors’ number.  
The message he had just received needed to be dealt with now before it got worse; after a few rings, Agent Donovan answered his cell phone “This is Donovan.”   
“So, Sarah just woke up, and she is telling me that her attacker told her to tell Ryan Hardy that ‘Joe Carroll lives’.” Mike told him.  
Agent Donovan cleared his throat “…are you sure it a legitimate message?” he asked.  
Mike sighed “Her attacker told her that if she didn’t tell him, that he would come back…and kill her.” He said, not wanting to say the last part, but he knew it was true.  
“Okay, I’m going to page the artist over and have him get a description of her attacker, in the meantime, I’m going to look into this ‘Joe Carroll’ business—understand?” he asked.  
“Understood sir.” He muttered.  
Agent Donovan went silent for a moment “…you’re not going to do anything behind my back…are you?”   
Mike shook his head gently “No sir,” he said, looking inside Sarahs’ room to see the sad looking young woman “…I’m not going to risk her safety.” He muttered.  
“Good.” Agent Donovan said before hanging up his phone.   
Mike hung his up as well, putting it in his pocket as he walked back into Sarahs’ room; she was trying to attempt a light smile towards him but it was obvious that her pain levels were too high to force such a simple task.  
“When you get out of here, you’re gonna stay with me. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I want eyes on you all the time.” Mike said, now becoming the defensive boyfriend.  
Sarah looked at him, they were both sharing the same sad face as they looked at each other; she reached out and grabbed his hand “I can live with that.” She muttered gently.


	7. Chapter 7

After a few days, Sarah was released from the hospital; and since she had been asked to take a few weeks of leave, she complied and was cooped up in Mikes’ apartment.  
Mike was prancing around, trying to get ready for work as Sarah watched him from the bed; Mike was turning over every piece of furniture looking for his badge but was having no luck spotting it.  
“…are you sure it’s not in the bathroom?” Sarah asked, trying to help him.  
Mike shook his head “No, I checked already.”   
“Your pockets?” she asked again.  
Mike stopped, checking his pockets only to find his car keys and cell phone, he shook his head at Sarah before going back to the search.  
Sarah stared at him for a moment “The fridge?” she asked.  
Mike stopped in his tracks and stood straight up; the fridge. It had happened before, on a rather bad day where he was so tired that he couldn’t even see straight.  
He walked over to the fridge and opened the door where his badge was laying on top of a doggie box “Are you kidding me!??” he yelled to himself, pulling his cold badge out of the fridge and around his neck.  
Sarah tried to muffle a laugh as he made his way back towards the bed “Okay, thanks. I love you. I’ll see you later.” He said before kissing her.   
“I love you too.” She told him back, watching him nearly run to the front door and leave in a rush.

 

Mike scurried in the meeting room with all the other agents, it was a debriefing about the recent killings and Mike had a feeling they were going to bring in the Joe Carroll element.  
Agent Donovan stood in the front, quickly getting all the attention from the agents as he glared at them with his one eye “Fucking eye patch.” Mike thought to himself as he looked up at his superior.  
“Alright, alright—listen up! We have an I.D on our killer; his name is Luke Taylor. We got some skin cells from his latest victim, he’s getting sloppy.” Agent Donovan said, completely standing still.  
Mike began to wonder if this Luke Taylor was the same guy who beat up Sarah, seeing as how he told her the little tid-bit about Joe Carroll, but he shook the thought away as Donovan continued to go on and on about where the FBI was on the case.  
After the unit was dismissed, Mike caught up with Deidre who was talking with another agent as she walked back to her desk; he called out for her, getting her attention as he followed her back to her desk.  
“Hey, do you know if you can locate another picture of this Luke Taylor?” he asked her.  
Deidre smirked as she looked over at the young agent “I don’t know, how much does it mean to you?” she toyed as she approached her desk.  
Mike looked at her with his usual grimace “Can you do it or not?” he asked.  
Deidre nodded “Yeah. I probably can.” She said, sitting down as her desk.  
He leaned forward as Deidre began to go through all the databases, searching for more pictures of the killer; Passports, School I.Ds, Drivers’ License, he wanted to see every picture of this guy and memorize it.   
“What are you thinking?” Deidre asked him, knowing the intense look in his eyes.  
Mike shook his head “Nothing, I just…maybe this is the same guy who attacked Sarah?” he suggested, not caring how paranoid he sounded.   
Deidre nodded slowly “Maybe.” She said, almost encouraging the thought.  
Mike nodded, gently smiling at Deidre “Thanks.” He said, patting her on the shoulder and leaving her little corner. 

 

Mike was once again going through the case file when his office phone rang, he quickly picked it up and answered “Agent Weston,” he said.  
“Hi, Agent Weston, you have a visitor here to see you.” The receptionist said.  
Mike stretched in his seat “Okay, did this visitor give a name?” he asked.  
“…it’s Ms. Greene, Agent Weston.” The receptionist remarked, Mike could almost hear the girlish giggle escape her lips.  
The agent sat up in his seat, shocked that Sarah would even risk it coming to the FBI office; Mike cleared his throat “Okay, I’ll be right down.” He said before hanging up his phone.   
His hand was still on his phone as he stopped to think for a moment, was Sarah in trouble? Did the guy come back?  
Mike wasn’t going to waste any time trying to figure it out as he rushed to the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor where Sarah was speaking with the receptionist.  
Sarah had a gentle smile on her face, and a casual laugh told Mike that she wasn’t in trouble or danger, as far as her body language was giving off.  
“Sarah.” Mike called out, approaching her.  
Sarah turned and smiled at Mike “Hi.”   
“What’s the matter? What are you doing here?” Mike asked her.  
Sarahs’ stance took a turn for the uncomfortable as she shook her head “Nothing, I just…I wanted to bring you lunch.” She said, trying to hide the blush from her cheeks.  
“Lunch?” he asked her, looking down at his watch to find that it was pushing noon just as his stomach began to make noises.  
Sarah handed Mike a brown paper bag that was a bit heavy but not too much, he looked inside the bag and gasped before looking back up at Sarah “…is this…a Philly Cheesesteak?” he asked her.  
She nodded “Yeah, uh, I went over to that deli around the corner from your apartment and got you something, figured it would be nice to have something brought in than go out and all that mess.” Sarah said, letting a smile form.  
Mike smiled in return “I love you.” He said, giving her a peck on the cheek.  
He looked down at her and at her bruises and stitches, he let his smile slip a little as he cleared his throat “Look, I know that the FBI and NYPD already interviewed you, but could I show you something for a sec?” he asked her.  
Sarah took a moment to think about it before gently nodding “Yeah, sure.” She said, walking with Mike back to the elevators.


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

            She sat on the other side of a break room table as Mike went through a case file and pulled out a picture and showed it to Sarah.

            “…is this the man that attacked you?” he asked, showing the picture of Luke Taylor.

            Sarah tightened, as she pulled herself away from her leaning forward position; almost trying to get away from the picture.

            Her smile faded quickly as she looked up at Mike “Yes.” She muttered.

            Mike nodded, taking the picture back and placing it in the case file, he watched as Sarah began to panic before his eyes when he reached over and took her hand.

            “It’s okay.” He told her.

            Sarah shook her head “No, Mike, it’s not okay. A man came into my house and almost killed me. And what’s worse is that he’s still out there!” she remarked.

            Mike wasn’t sure how to respond to her response, it was all true and he knew he couldn’t say or do anything that could comfort her.

            “Enjoy your lunch.” Sarah remarked after a moment of silence.

            She got up from her seat before walking towards the exit, Mike quickly stood up “Sarah, honey…”

            Sarah turned to him slowly, Mike was at a loss of words; what could he possibly say to get Sarah to stay?

            “It is going to be okay, we know who he is and we will find him.” He said, determined to make it happen.

            Sarah sighed, letting go of the door knob as she approached Mike “I know. But it’s still scary. You don’t understand!” she remarked.

            “No, but I do! That’s just it! You don’t think I haven’t been where you are now? Sarah, it is the worst feeling in the world! Trust me, I do know how you feel.” Mike told her, placing his hands on her arms.

            She nodded, that was all she let out before Mike sighed “Hey, why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? Just you and me. We’ll go to that little French restaurant you love.” Mike offered.

            Sarah let a smile out “Okay.” She said before bringing herself in for a hug, Mike held her tight before letting her go.

            “Alright, good. I’ll be home a little after 5.” He told her.

            Sarah continued to smile as she nodded at her boyfriend “Okay, I’ll be waiting.” She said, giving him a quick peck on the lips before walking out of the break room, leaving Mike alone with his lunch.

 

 

            She was breathtaking in the coral dress as she sat across from Mike at the corner table of the restaurant, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

            “You look beautiful.” Mike told her.

            Sarah blushed yet again as she took another sip of her drink “Thank you.”

            Mike sighed “I mean, I know I’ve said it like five different times now, but you really are.” He said.

            Sarah smiled at him “And you look very handsome tonight as well, I must say.” She said with a light chuckle.

            Mike smirked at her “Thank you for lunch by the way, it was delicious.” He said as he began reading through the menu.

            “I’m glad, I know how you love a good Philly Cheesesteak.” She said as she began to read her menu as well.

            They were both silent as they read the menu and occasionally taking sips from their drinks, spotting glances at each other for awhile before Sarah finally put her menu down and stared at Mike.

            Mike looked up from his menu “What?”

            Sarah smiled “I love you.”

            “I love you, too.” Mike said, putting his menu down as well.

            Sarah continued to smile for awhile before she finally took a deep breath and grabbed her purse “I have to use the ladies room.” She remarked as she began to make her way to the back of the restaurant.

            Mike watched her as she did, enjoying the view before going back to the menu; he honestly didn’t like French food, but Sarah loved it, so he tried to make it work.

            The restaurant suddenly became quiet, alerting Mike as he looked up from the menu.

            A group of people walked into the restaurant and something immediately wasn’t right about them as Mike watched them for a moment before going back to his menu.

            He finally was arguing with himself about which item sounded better in the novel of a menu when a blood-hurtling screaming scared him and alerted him to what was going on around him.

            The group of people from earlier had erupted chaos amongst the diners as people began to be stabbed as well as sliced and diced.

            Mike was glad he had brought his weapon as he pulled it out and pointed it at one of the assaulters “FBI, FREEZE!” he yelled.

            A few people looked and stared at him for a moment, he was getting nervous as devious grins began to appear on their faces when he felt a hard something hit his head and he fell to the ground.

 

 

            Mike awoke on a gurney, strapped in and ready to make his way to the closest E.R room, his head was throbbing as he grumbled.

            “Sarah.” He managed to mutter out.

            He could feel the gurney begin to move as he continued to call out for Sarah, only she never answered as the paramedics rolled him into the ambulance.

            As he stared up at the bright white ceiling of the ambulance, he could hear several voices talking and arguing before someone climbed in; Agent Donovan looked down at Mike as he started losing consciousness again.

            “Where’s Sarah?” he muttered before closing her eyes.

            Agent Donovan looked down at Mike “What do you mean, Agent Weston?” he asked.

            “…she…she…” Mike was losing his train of thought as he began to fall unconscious again, unable to finish his remark before succumbing to the heavy tired feeling he was having.

            Agent Donovan huffed before climbing out of the ambulance, looking around at the mess that he was left to clean up.

            If the body count was any indication, this entire thing was bigger and higher than Luke Taylor.  


	9. Chapter 9

 

                No one was saying anything to Mike as a nurse patched up his head and sent him on his way; he hadn’t heard a word from Sarah or anything about Sarah which infuriated him as agents and staff hurried around dying and injured victims from the attack.

                Mike walked out of the hospital, calling Sarahs’ number which immediately went to voicemail.

                He huffed as he called three more times, but it was the same thing every time: straight to voicemail.

                Tears of frustration were forming on his face as he put his phone away in his back pocket, climbing down the entry stairs of the hospital and began to walk towards the sidewalk to call a cab when someone began to hurry over to him.

                “Agent Weston.” Donovan called out, finally reaching the young agent who was ready to explode at any minute.

                Mike turned to him, his nostrils flaring as he looked over at his superior “…just tell me. What happened to Sarah?” he asked.

                Agent Donovan sighed, crossing his arms “…Mike, she wasn’t there.” He said bluntly.

                Mikes’ stomach dropped, trying to contain himself as Donovan continued to talk “…we searched every crevice of that restaurant, and we couldn’t find her.” He admitted.

                “So they took her.” Mike muttered, kicking a small rock as he let a frustrated smirk take over his lips.

                Agent Donovan nodded “Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking happened. We’re going to look into this.” He remarked.

                “Oh, just like how you were going to ‘look into’ the message Sarahs’ attacker gave her??” Mike hissed.

                “I don’t like that tone, Agent!” Donovan remarked.

                Mike nearly rolled his eyes “Whatever. You know what, I’m off the clock—I don’t need this!” he remarked before turning around and beginning his walk towards the curb.

 

 

                It was pushing nearly 3 in the morning as Ryan heard a knock on his door, he grumbled as he opened his eyes groggily and looked at his alarm clock.

                “Who the fuck is that?” he muttered as another knock came from the door.

                Ryan sluggishly got out of bed and began the blind walk to his front door which he answered and an upset Mike Weston stood before him.

                “What happened?” he asked.

                Mike shrugged “I don’t know. We went to dinner, and then these people showed up and just started wreaking havoc and killing people, and then Sarah just disappeared! And I went back to the apartment but I can’t sleep cause her stuff is all over the apartment, and the pillow smells like her…” he said, trailing off.

                Ryan sighed as he looked at his friend, a broken-hearted young man; he’d been there…he’d been there a lot.

                “I was listening to her records, well, record. I was listening to Skeeter Davis’ ‘End of the World’ for like an hour!” Mike admitted.

                “Okay—okay!” Ryan responded, pulling his friend into the apartment, then turned on a light so they weren’t in complete darkness.

                Mike sat down on the couch as Ryan looked him over; he noticed a bandage on his eye, alerting the older man “What happened to your head?” he asked.

                “One of those punks hit me over the head with a dinner plate.” Mike said in an unamused tone.

                Ryan nodded as he sat down next to Mike, it was obvious that these past few days had been rough on Mike, it was apparent on his face and in his eyes.

                “…and Donovan, he just—he’s just being an ass about this whole thing. Did he get in touch with you?” Mike remarked.

                Ryan shook his head “No, why would he get in touch with me?”

                Mike huffed “Because Sarah got attacked last week, and her attacker gave her a message to give to you, and Donovan said he would ‘take care of it’…so much for that.”

                “Well, what was the message?” Ryan asked.

                Mike shook his head “No, I don’t want to kick the beehive.”

                Ryan smirked “Tell me.” He said.

                Mike sighed “…tell Ryan Hardy that Joe Carroll lives.” He quotes before he turned to Ryan.

                It was obvious to Mike that Ryan was letting it simmer in his mind “…and they told Sarah this?” Ran asked.

                Mike nodded “Yeah, and you never got the message…and so they came back for her.” He said, hanging his head just a little.

                Ryan put his hand on Mikes’ back “…she’s going to be okay. I mean, why would they hurt you if it’s me they want?” he asked.

                “You’re really going to ask that?” Mike remarked, pulling up his shirt to expose the scar from his stab wound from last year.

                “Good point.” Ryan retorted.

                Mike smirked as Ryan got up from his seat “Do you want something to eat? Drink? I can make a pot of coffee if you want.” Ryan offered him.

                The young agent shook his head “No, if it’s okay with you, I just want your couch.”

                Ryan chuckled “Oh, I feel so used.” He said sarcastically.

                Mike let a small smile out as he laid down on the couch and up at the ceiling, Ryan popped up in his line of sight with a smile “You want a pillow…maybe a blanket? It is cold.” He suggested.

                “I guess.” Mike mumbled, closing his eyes and listening out for Ryan who would walking around the apartment as quietly as he could.

                Ryan came back with a spare pillow and blanket only to find that Mike was already fast asleep on the couch, he grumbled in his way of how Mike should have taken his shoes off before propping himself up off the couch.

                He let it go as he placed the blanket over Mike and threw the pillow aside, Ryan knew there wasn’t any use in trying to adjust Mikes’ head onto the pillow when he was already asleep.

                Ryan turned off the light and went back to bed, letting the message that Mike told him sink in a little more; if it was honestly true then the FBI were in more trouble than they thought.


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

            Mike was drooling on the couch when Ryan suddenly smacked him across the face, alarming Mike as he sluggishly awoke.

            “What?” Mike said in his alerted manner.

            Ryan smirked as Mike looked up at him, groggy-eyed and all “…get up, it’s pushing noon and your cell phone keeps going off.” He said.

            Mike rubbed his eye as he reached out and grabbed his phone off the night table and began to read his text messages and look through his missed calls.

            “I got to get to work so I am actually going to have to kick you out.” Ryan remarked.

            He didn’t waste any time getting up off the couch and stretching, he did need to get back to his apartment to change clothes and probably take a shower; he just hoped that one of the 5 voicemails was about Sarah.

 

 

            He went into work late, which was unheard of for the young agent as he walked through the halls and made his way to his desk.

            The office that he shared with four other agents gawked at him, staring amongst each other as they watched Mike settle in to his desk.

            Mike had come in a little after noon which meant it was going to be a long night to make up for the hours he ‘skipped’ on top of any ‘action’ that could occur that day.

            “Weston!” he jumped as Agent Donovan approached his desk, Mike knew that he was in trouble for what he did last night, on top of coming in 4 hours late.

            This just wasn’t his day.

            “My office, now!” Donovan hissed before turning around and leaving the office.

            Mike looked around the office as the other four agents stared at him before he scuffed them off and walked out of the office.

 

 

            Mike had gotten the scolding of a lifetime before he was sent back to his office where his four colleges now went missing from the office.

            He got to his desk that had gotten a new file with a sticky note on top; Mike looked around before he sat down at his desk and read the sticky note from Deidre.

            _“Intercepted this this morning, figured you would want to take a look.”_ The note read, Mike sighed as he put the note aside and opened the file that had been filled with surveillance footage.

            Mike looked the pictures over as it was obvious who these was concerning as he saw Sarah standing around next to a familiar face, biting her nails.

            There two other people with Sarah were obvious, which made his stomach drop as he recognized not only Luke Taylor, but Emma Hill as well.

            Mike looked up from the pictures, thinking for a moment before he got up from his seat and rushed towards Deidres’ office.

            “Mitchell—” Mike barked, sliding on the floor for a moment before he caught himself and walked inside.

            Deidre turned to Mike “Yes, sir.”

            “…can I see the surveillance footage?” Mike asked.

            Deidre nodded as she turned back to her computer and began typing away, searching for the footage as Mike stood over her shoulder, waiting to look through it.

            “Okay, here.” Deidre remarked, starting the playback as Mike watched closely.

            He watched as Sarah bit her nails while Emma Hill was talking to her, then Luke Taylor approaches the both of them and the three of them walk out of the frame.

            Mike huffed as Deidre stops the footage “We couldn’t find them after that.” she said, turning to Mike who was still standing behind her.

            “Well, I mean, that footage makes it more obvious that it’s above Luke Taylor, if Emma Hill is involved then we’ve got bigger problems.” Mike remarked.

            Deidre looked at him, it was an infamous look.

            “What?” Mike nearly hissed.

            “…Joe Carroll is dead.” Deidre assured him.

            Mike shrugged his shoulders as he backed away from Deidre and out of the office “I know—but something isn’t right about this.” He said as he left, heading back to his corner.

 

 

            It was pushing 7 at night as Mike continued to work away at his desk, his co-workers had left at their usual times, and unless something awry happened in the next two hours, Mike expected to be home by 9.

            Agent Donovan stomped into Mikes’ corner “Weston! We’ve got a spotting of Taylor and Hill. They were seen about 10 minutes ago in the Farmers Market, lets go!” he remarked, leaving as fast as he came in.

            Mike didn’t waste any time grabbing his jacket and heading out with Agent Donovan and the small team that they had developed.

           

 

            Mike noticed that Donovan hadn’t mentioned Sarah being spotted as well; was she not there? Did Donovan just neglect to tell him? Did Donovan not care about Sarah?

            He shook the thought away as he drove with his fellows agents down the road and towards the Farmers Marker where he hoped that somebody still had an eye on the two serial killers.

            The car stopped on the curb and the agents flooded out slowly, trying not to alert the patrons as they spread out to try and find Emma Hill or Luke Taylor.

            Mike kept his gun on his hip as he gently looked around, hoping to find Sarah amongst the crowd, but he knew that that wasn’t the objective—just an added bonus.  

            In the middle of his focus, Mike heard a loud scream coming down the marker, causing a frenzy as agents began to run around, guns shown and all.

            “WESTON! SOUTH COORIDOR!” a random agent yelled, Mike turned in that direction and began to chase the two individuals running away from the scene.

            Mike rushed as fast as he could, with his gun in his hand as he forced his legs to run as fast as possible while the two people in front of him turned a corner.

            He grumbled, he hated when they did that, but he continued running, turning the corner only to find one person running away now.

            “FBI! FREEZE!” he yelled, still following the person.

            The person continued to run until Mike decided to make the decision to stop and fire his gun not at the person by at a nearby pipe, hoping that would stop or slow down the individual.

            It was a good hit as the person screaming, tripping on their own foot and falling to the floor.

            “FBI…Freeze!” he said, walking towards the individual with his gun still pointed at them.

            The persons’ face was hidden, but it was obvious that this was a woman—maybe he had just caught Emma Hill?

            “Show your face.” He demanded.

            The young woman showed her face to Mike, causing his stomach to drop as Sarah showed herself to him.

            “Mikey…” she muttered.

.           “Sarah.” He returned.


	11. Chapter 11

 

 

            Mike kneeled down at Sarah “Honey, what were you thinking?” he asked her, taking her shoulders and lightly shaking her.

            Sarah sighed “I don’t know.” She muttered.

            He looked her over, she looked perfectly fine aside from the fact that she needed to shampoo her hair “Are you alright?” he asked in anyway.

            “Yeah.” Sarah responded.

            Mike sighed as he looked at her “Why did you run?” he asked her.

            Sarah shrugged; she couldn’t find the words to explain when Mike began to hear footsteps coming up behind him.

            “Agent Weston, so nice to see you again.” The young womans’ voice remarked.

            Mike turned around to see Emma Hill; her appearance had changed drastically with multiple face piercings and a hot pink Mohawk.

            “Ms. Hill…” Mike simply said as he stood up, blocking Sarah from Emmas’ line of sight, aiming his gun at her.

            Emma smirked at the agent “Oh, Michael…you’re such a fool.” She remarked.

            Mike cocked an eye brow at the serial killer.

            “…such a fool…in love.” She muttered to him.

            Mike felt something hard hit him square in the back, he cried out in pain as he fell to his knees.

            “I’m so sorry, Mikey…” Sarah remarked, dropping the pipe next to him.

            Mike whimpered in pain as Sarah and Emma looked up at each other, Emma motioned for Sarah to follow her and they both disappeared by turning another corner into another ally way, leaving Mike alone with his injury.

           

 

            Another day, another E.R visit as Mike laid uncomfortably in the hospital bed, ignoring the crowd of F.B.I agents that were flooding his room.

            Mikes’ heart was splitting in half at the realization that the love of his life was a follower, just like Molly was with Ryan, she was his follower.

            He didn’t want to admit it yet, he was hoping deep down inside of himself that Sarah was just going along with some elaborate scheme that Donovan and her hashed out earlier, and that she would be walking through the door any minute.

            But she didn’t. And she never would.

            The past six months had been a lie, and Mike did every thing in his being to stop himself from letting a tear shed, or tearing apart the E.R area.

            “Mr. Weston?” a nurse called out before entering the room.

            Mike turned to the nurse who gently smiled at him “You have a visitor.” She said before taking a step back.

            His heart fluttered, giving himself this elated hope that Sarah was his visitor, coming to apologize for hitting him with the pipe, but it wasn’t.

            Ryan turned the corner into the E.R room with a concerned look on his face “Hey, you.” Ryan muttered.

            Mike sighed “Hi.” He simply muttered.

            “So…all things considered, how are you doing?” Ryan asked cautiously, it was apparent to Mike that he had been told what happened in the ally way.

            Mike shook his head as he huffed out of anger “…I thought she was the one.” He muttered.

            Ryan nodded “I know, man.”

            “…and she ripped my heart out and stomped on it…and then hit me with a lead pipe.” Mike continued.

            Ryan sat down next to Mike “I wish I knew what to say…I mean…” he trailed off, there was nothing he could say to make Mike feel better.

            Mike turned away from Ryan, trying to force back forming tears, but it was no use as one slid down her cheek “Everything she said…everything she did, it was a lie! The past six months were a lie!” he remarked.

            Ryan shook his head “No, they weren’t…I mean, yeah—so your girlfriend turned out to be a follower of a serial killer cult, but what I saw at that dinner, it was honest and it was true.” He said, now trying to make an attempt at making Mike feel better.

            “She loved you, Mike.” He whispered.

            Mike shook his head again “If she loved me, then why did she do this?” he asked rhetorically.

            Ryan shrugged “I don’t know, maybe you can ask her when they find her.” He suggested.

            It made Mike sick to his stomach, thinking about looking at Sarah again; his entire body ached with the physical and mental pain that she brought on.

            “…I never want to look at her again.” Mike retorted.

            Ryan nodded “Okay, that’s your prerogative.”

            Mike closed his eyes, wanting to feel the pain medication kick in, but nothing did as he just laid there with Ryan by his side.

 

 

            After X-rays and another MRI, Mike was free to leave the E.R, he was tired of being there and tired of staring at the blank white walls.

            Ryan walked with him, they both were silent as Ryan cleared his throat “Hey, why don’t you stay at my place again? Just get away from that apartment for a while.” He suggested.

            Mike shook his head “No, thanks though. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight.” He said.

            Ryan nodded “Okay, but if you need anything, you call me, okay?” Ryan said, trying to be the friend Mike needed at that time.

            Mike nodded “Yeah, okay.” He said.

            Ryan watched as Mike began walking towards the sidewalk when he cleared his throat “Hey! At least let me give you a ride back to your apartment!” he suggested.

            Mike stopped and turned back to Ryan “Okay.” He said, after thinking for a moment.

 

 

            He couldn’t sleep, so he went around the apartment cleaning up and organizing; he would occasionally find something that belonged to Sarah and would throw it in the trash, no questions asked.

            Mike had a lot emotions boiling up inside of him, and he admitted to himself that the last time this happened he had almost died by the hands of Joe Carrolls’ goons.

            Just thinking about it made him stop, he stood up from leaning forward to pick up a shirt off the floor and walked over to his bed where he sat on the edge of it.

            The memories flooded back to him; the showdown with Charlie, the asshole that was named Roderick, and almost dying as they collectively held him down and places a knife to his throat.

            As the memories flooded, his cell phone vibrated on his night table, he sighed as he reached out for it and read the text message from Deidre.

            “ _Sarah Greene just turned herself into FBI custody._ ” The text read.

            “What the fuck am I supposed to do with that, Deidre??” he muttered to himself as he tossed his cell phone aside for a moment.

            Mike thought about it for a moment “I’m not gonna go!” he insisted to himself.

            He thought about it for a moment longer “I should go.” He remarked as he stood up from his bed, grabbed his jacket, and left to go to headquarters.


	12. Chapter 12

 

 

                All eyes were on him in the early morning hours at the FBI Headquarters, Mike could tell that his entire division had been gossiping about him, but he didn’t care as he entered the interrogation back room where several other agents, including Deidre, were watching.

                The agents turned to Mike, all of which were surprised to see him as he squeezed his way to the window where Agent Donovan was attempting to interrogate Sarah.

 

 

                “You know, it is so nice to finally meet you, Ms. Greene.” Agent Donovan remarked.

                Sarah nodded, not saying anything as she leaned forward on the table, crossing her arms as did; she said nothing as she stared at Agent Donovan.

                Agent Donovan nodded “So, you want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

                Sarah shook her head.

                “Okay.” He said, nodding to himself, keeping quiet for a moment, hoping Sarah would snap and start talking.

                Sarah turned to the two-way mirror, trying to imagine how many agents were standing behind it; watching her, judging her, discussing her.

                She turned back to Agent Donovan “I want to talk to Michael.” She finally said.

                “Well, that’s not going to happen.” Agent Donovan retorted.

                “Then I guess we’re done.” She said, leaning back in her seat.

 

               

                The agents turned and looked at Mike, who ignored their glares as he looked at the woman sitting in the room; she looked the same to him, and she sounded the same too.

                But he didn’t want to kid himself, she was a ‘siren’ as his brother would dub her; he started mentally arguing with himself on whether or not he would humor himself and go talk to her, figure it all out if just for closure.

                Deidre put a hand on his shoulder “You alright over there?” she asked him.

                Mike nodded “Yeah, I’m just…thinking.” He replied.

                Deidre nodded, taking her hand back and stood silently for a while “She’s small that I thought she would be.” She remarked.

                Mike turned to Deidre, who let a gentle smile escape her lips; Deidre wasn’t much a joker, but when she got the chance, she loved to break the tension of a situation.

                They watched as Agent Donovan finally left the interrogation room and walked around the corner into the back room where he looked up to see Mike.

                “Agent Weston, what are you doing here?” he asked.

                “I’m watching the interrogation.” Mike said.

                Agent Donovan shook his head “You shouldn’t be here. You know the rules.”

                Mike nodded “I know.” He said, right when he saw from his peripheral vision that Deidre had turned back to the window.

                He turned back to the mirror to find that Sarah was standing in front of the mirror, he jolted back a little as all the agents watched as she looked into the mirror.

                Sarah looked herself over for a moment before she fogged up the mirror and began wiping away a smudge with her sweater sleeve.

                Mike watched as she smiled to herself and then began to pace around the room, he began to ask himself what Ryan would do in this situation; he knew exactly what Ryan would do—but he wasn’t Ryan, so he couldn’t just walk in there and interrogate his girlfriend…well, ex-girlfriend.

                He turned back to Agent Donovan “So, I take it she isn’t talking.” Mike said, almost taunting his superior as he leaned against the window, crossing his arms.

                Agent Donovan crossed his arms in return “She wants to talk to you, Weston.”

                Mike shook his head “Well, I don’t want to talk to her.”

                “I wouldn’t let you talk to her anyway.” Agent Donovan retorted.

                They both stood in silence while the other agents stood around awkwardly when another person walked into the interrogation back room “Agent Donovan, I’ve got someone on the phone claiming to have information on Luke Taylor.”

                Agent Donovan nodded “Alright.” He said, turning away from the agents then leaving the room, alleviating the tension slightly as the agents turned back to Mike.

                Mike looked back at the window where Sarah was sitting down again, twiddling her thumbs as she waited patiently for the next agent to come in.

                “…I’m gonna talk to her.” Mike states as he left the room.

 

 

 

                Mike walked in and a bright smile on Sarahs’ face greeted him “Hi.” She said, grabbing the pitcher of water and pouring a glass “Do you want some water?” she asked him.

                He sat down across from her as she pushed the glass towards him, he pushed it aside as he glared at her.

                Sarah smiled “Mikey, listen…”

                “It’s Agent Weston.” He interrupted her, sounding stern as he clenched his jaw at her.

                “Oh, okay…Mr. Tough Agent, got it!” Sarah said, giggling to herself.

                “SARAH—stop it! Right now!” Mike demanded, slamming his fist on the table.

                Sarah lost her smile as she realized that Mike wasn’t playing games with her, that his fury and anger was directed at her, and rightfully so.

                “What are you doing here?” he asked her.

                “I came to see you.” Sarah said, reaching out for his hand, but he pulled it away from her.

                Mike shook his head “This isn’t a game Sarah, what are you doing here? Is this a ploy? Is this a distraction? What is this?” he asked her.

                Sarah took  her hands back as well, placing them on her lap as she shook her head “I mean it, I came to see you.” She remarked.

                “What good does it do you, huh?” Mike asked her.

                Sarah sighed, she put her hands flat down on the table, silently telling Mike that everything was on the table “…okay, so I’m part of a serial killing cult—but I haven’t killed anybody, ever! So technically, I’m not a criminal—just a bad judge of character.”

                “But you did attack a federal agent.” Mike told her.

                “And I’m really sorry about that, it was either that or Emma would have murdered you in cold blood…and I couldn’t live with that!” Sarah remarked.

                His nostrils flared at the mention of Emmas’ name, it infuriated him; the metaphorical knife in his chest was twisted with every word she was telling him.

                “Mike, I love you. I might have left out a few details, but everything I told you was true.” Sarah said, trying to repair the damage of their broken relationship.

                He looked at her closely, he didn’t know what to think anymore as his heart told him to forgive her and move on while his brain told him that she was a criminal and deserved to be treated like one.

                “I just have one question for you.” Mike said.

                Sarah nodded “Yeah, anything!” she said, letting a small smile escape her lips.

                “Is Joe Carroll alive?” he asked her; it was straight forward, no bull shit as he looked her straight in the eyes.

                Sarah struggled with the question looking down and away from Mike as she contemplated answering the question.

                “Answer the question, Sarah…you love me don’t you?” Mike taunted her.

                Sarah nodded “Yes, I do.”

                “Then answer the question.” Mike told her.

                Sarah sighed, finally looked up at Mike once again “Yes. Joe Carroll is alive.” She muttered.

                Mike nodded “Good to know.” He said before getting up and leaving the interrogation room.

                Sarah put her head in her hands as she began to cry, everything was falling apart for her; and she just wished that she could go back and fix it all.

               

 

               


	13. Chapter 13

 

 

                Mike was distraught during the morning hours of his shift, he had watched from his desk other agents escorting Sarah from the interrogation room back to the holding cells.

                He had a twinge of guilt, his heart was aching at just the thought of her; he still couldn’t believe that this was happening, and in a way, Mike wanted to believe that it wasn’t.

                In mid thought, Agent Donovan walked in and glared at him with his one good eye “I specifically remember telling you not to talk to her.” He said, crossing his arms.

                Mike shrugged “Sorry.” He muttered.

                Agent Donovan huffed as he took a step closer towards Mike “She’ll only talk to you though.” He continued.

                Mike shrugged “Well that’s too bad, because I’m never talking to her again.”

                “Can I just make an observation?” Agent Donovan requested.

                “I guess.” Mike muttered.

                Agent Donovan nodded “Even after the past 24 hours, you still have strong feelings for her. And she does for you, too. This is going to cause a few problems for the case.” He remarked.

                Mike sighed, rubbing his eyes for a moment “Don’t take me off the case, just keep myself and Ms. Greene at a distance from each other.” He suggested.

                “Ms. Greene, is our main witness right now, and if you continue to be on this case, but can’t interrogate the witness because you two can’t control your feelings for each other—that’s going to be a problem!” Agent Donovan hissed.

                Mike glared at his superior, he wanted to poke his other eye out just to be an ass to him; Agent Donovan wasn’t helping the situation by yelling and screaming at him, giving him mixed messages about the case and the situation at hand.

                He stood from his seat “This isn’t about controlling my emotions, this is about a conflict of interest.” Mike remarked.

                “Are you two still involved?” Agent Donovan asked, almost surprised by Mikes’ words.

                Mike shook his head in the silence of the room “No. No, I’m not with her anymore.”  He stated.

                Agent Donovan looked over the agent before nodding “Then there shouldn’t be a problem, will there Agent Weston?” he remarked.

                Mike shook his head again “No, sir.”

                “Good. We’ll be putting Ms. Greene in an interrogation room soon, expect to see you there.” Agent Donovan said before leaving the office and Mike alone once again.

 

 

                She was alone in the interrogation room, handcuffed to not cause any trouble when Mike walked in with a file in his hands.

                Sarah smiled at him as she straightened up in her seat and put up a perked smile on her face.

                Mike looked at her and could see the obvious; she had been crying since he initially left her at 2 in the morning, she was tired on top of it all, and she was slouched over just a little which told Mike that she was hungry—he knew this from experience.

                He sat across from her and opened the file wide before clicking his pen “Tell me about Luke Taylor.” He said.     

                Sarah nodded as she laced her tiny fingers together “Luke Taylor, what do you want to know?” she asked him.

                “Everything.” Mike said.

                “…well, he’s not a friend of Joes’ but he’s definitely inspired by him.” Sarah remarked.

                Mike nodded “And how does he know you and Emma?”

                “Emma reached out, thought he would make a good fit for Joes’ comeback and all. I don’t really like him—he’s such a little prick.” Sarah explained.

                Mike wrote it all down in his notepad that was within the folder, he looked up at Sarah and stared at her in silence for a moment; hoping she would look away, but she stared at him right back with her deep chocolate brown eyes.

                “Where’s Joe?” he asked her.

                Sarah shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know.”

                “You don’t know, or you don’t want me to know?” Mike asked her.

                Sarah smiled “You’re good at this, Mikey.” She said.

                “Answer the question.” Mike hissed.

                Sarah sighed “I don’t know.” She said again, she began to slide off her flat and lifted her leg up towards Mike and placed her foot in between his legs “But Emma does.” She continued.

                She pressed her foot against the crotch of his jeans, continuing to look him in the eyes when he caught her ankle and pushed her foot away from him and his seat.

                Sarah let a small pout escape her lips “But we all have out little secrets, Emma knows things I don’t, I know things Emma doesn’t. So it’s a fair trade.”

                “So when is Joes’ big return? Or do you not know that either?” Mike interrogated.

                Mike was at a loss, beginning to feel some unexpected emotions with the sight of Sarah; he began to imagine her on the table, and him in between her legs, giving her all he had as she moaned his name and all the pet names she had given him while the entire headquarters hearing and seeing it all.

                He shook the thought away, it was clear that he had missed something as Sarah cocked an eye brow at him “Were you even listening to me?” Sarah asked him.

                It was hard to separate the old parts of Sarah with the new as he swallowed hard “Sorry, what did you say?”   

                “I said the only one who knows for sure, is Joe.” Sarah said, tilting her head down a bit as she looked at him.

                Mike sighed “Guessing, how many new followers does Joe have?” he asked.

                Sarah shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know. For the longest time, it’s been just Emma and myself.”

                “And how long have you known Emma?” Mike asked, trying to push down the dirty thoughts that was circling in his mind.

                Sarah counted with her fingers “4 years, give or take. I wasn’t originally a part of Joes’ circle, but after a while it just seems nice to be a part of something bigger than myself.” She remarked.

                They locked eyes once again, the thoughts and the sexual tension in the room were becoming a bit much for Mike when he suddenly excused himself and left the interrogation room and rushed to the bathroom where he hid himself inside a stall.

                “ _Okay, think about something sick and twisted…think about—Ryan! Yeah, think about Ryan!_ ” he told himself as he leaned against the stall door.

                He felt himself relax when a random thought emerged from within “ _No-no! Don’t think about Emma and Sarah! Think about Ryan…think about Ryan and Joe! Yeah, think about that!”_ Mike told himself, but he just couldn’t relax beyond the point.

                Mike heard the bathroom door open and a few footsteps coming towards the stall “Agent Weston,” Agent Donovan remarked.

                He relaxed, feeling the pressure in his pants descend almost immediately by the sound of his boss’ voice.

                “Is everything alright in there?” Agent Donovan continued.

                Mike unlocked the stall door and opened it “Yeah, I just…I got a little woozy feeling all of a sudden, but I’m good now.” He said, nodding to himself.

                Agent Donovan looked the agent up and down “Are you well enough to continue the interrogation?” he asked.

                Mike nodded “Yeah.” He said, exiting the bathroom.


	14. Chapter 14

 

 

                They sat quietly for a moment in the interrogation room, Mike was trying to think of some more questions to ask Sarah before he finally left.

                Sarah sighed “Look, can we just talk about ‘us’ for a minute?” she asked.

                Mike scuffed “Sure! Lets talk about us—in front of God and my co-workers!” he said sarcastically.  

                “Okay!” Sarah remarked.

                Mike gritted his teeth as Sarah swallowed hard “Mike, I’m sorry. I am. Initially, yes, my job was to infiltrate you, know you and your habits—but then I feel in love with you, and your habits!” Sarah said.

                “Oh, yeah?” Mike nearly hissed.

                “Yes! Why would I give myself up if I didn’t give two shits about you?” Sarah remarked.

                Mike shrugged “I could think of at least 5 reasons off the top of my head! You’re a Carroll follower, okay? You are a part of a cold and heartless cult who kind of murders people!”

                “I don’t murder people, Michael! I told you that like twice already!” Sarah retorted.

                “How do I know that you’re not lying??” Mike asked her.

                Sarah huffed “You know better than ANYBODY else on the planet that I am a terrible liar!”

                “Oh, well, you did a good job covering your tracks about this, sweetie.” Mike hissed.

                Sarah growled at him “Michael—for fucks sake!! Let it go, for just two seconds! Forget about the little bias of the situation!!”

                Mike shook his head “No!”

                Sarah huffed “UGH!! Michael, I loved you then, and I still love you. I would give up everything to be with you. I will go to jail for the rest of my life to prove to you that I love you!”

                Mike stared at her, his jaw still clenched as he glared at her with his bright blue eyes.

                Sarah took a deep breathe in “Did you love me?” she asked him.

                “Did I? I still do. And that’s what is tearing me apart! It’s killing me…and I’m trying to figure out how even though I know you’re pure evil--”

                “—I’m not evil, Michael!” Sarah interjected.

                The interrogation room door opened “Alright—break it up!” Agent Donovan remarked, two agents followed in behind him, grabbing Sarah and pulling her up from the chair.

                Sarah was escorted past Agent Donovan, they both locked eyes as Sarah smirked “Arr matey!” she muttered before they pulled her away entirely.

                Mike sat in place as he felt his superiors’ glare on his back “...I’ll be there in a minute.” Mike said gently.

                Agent Donovan nodded before he left the interrogation room.

                Mike stood up and closed the file before leaving the room, Deidre was practically waiting for him by the door as they walked together to Donovans’ office.

                “You still love her, huh?” Deidre asked him.

                Mike huffed, looking down at his feet then back up “Yeah.” He muttered.

                Deidre smiled at him “Don’t beat yourself up about it.” She said, patting his shoulder before Mike turned to Donovans’ office, to get a dose of punishment for letting personal feelings get in the way.

               

 

 

                Donovan glared at Mike for a moment, Mike just sat there and took the awkwardness for what it was before Donovan spoke.

                “You’re off the case.” He simply said.

                “That works for me.” Mike said in return.

                Agent Donovan nodded “You’re also suspended for a week...effective immediately” He continued.

                Mike just nodded, not saying anything that could make his punishment worse as he stood up from his seat and left the office, going to his corner to collect his bag and leave for the week.

 

 

 

                He laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling because he didn’t have anything better to do with his time off.

                “ _Maybe I should go see mom and dad.”_ Mike thought to himself when there came a light knock at his door.

                Mike rolled off his bed and walked towards his door; he didn’t even bother looking through the peep hole as he opened the door wide to see Ryan in front of him.

                “Hey, buddy.” He said almost cautiously.  

                Mike sighed, letting Ryan into the apartment; Ryan looked around and then looked back at Mike “I’m tired of asking, but still, how are you doing?” he asked.

                Mike shrugged “Just when I think things can’t get worse…Sarah happens. Again, and again…and again.” He said as he walked into the living room and fell face first into the couch.

                Ryan smirked “Lets not dwell on her, lets go out! You’ve got a week to do nothing, do nothing with me!” he said, pulling Mikes’ leg as if he was trying to get him off the couch.

                Mike rolled around and looked at Ryan “My life is over.” He muttered.

                “Your life is not over, this is just a hiccup. We all have them.” Ryan remarked, trying to make his friend feel better.

                Mike shook his head “I threw my dirty laundry out into the open during an interrogation with a Joe Carroll follower…who just so happens to be the girl I was sleeping with for the past 6 months.” He muttered.

                “I’m sure the sex was good.” Ryan said with a light smirk.

                Mike glared at Ryan “I don’t want to talk about this,” he said, getting off the couch “I’m going to get drunk!”

                “And I will watch you get drunk…while I eat something—come on, Mike, lets go out!” Ryan said, guiding his friend out of his apartment.

                Mike didn’t fight him as he grabbed his keys from his table and walked out into the hallway with Ryan, who was trying to cheer him up every step of the way.

                “Just stop…please.” Mike said, climbing down the stairs with Ryan.

                Ryan grimaced “Okay, fine. I’ll stop talking.” He said.

 

 

                Mike ignored the news cast on the TV as he worked on his first beer while Ryan enjoyed a light salad “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” Ryan asked.

                “Yes, I am sure. I just want to forget the last few days never happened.” Mike remarked before taking another sip of his beer.

                Ryan nodded “Okay.” He said gently.

                _“Breaking News: We have confirmed reports that FBI Headquarters has been attacked. We, though, cannot confirm is this attack was terrorist-related, we will keep you up to date on this event._ ” The TV newscast blared.

                Both Mike and Ryan turned to the TV, then back to each other, Mike huffed as he took another sip of his beer “Shit.”  

               


	15. Chapter 15

 

 

                His phone vibrated again and again, but Mike refused to pick it up as he laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling.

                The news of how someone had infiltrated the FBI office was all over the news and the more Mike heard about it, the more irritated he got.

                Mike closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but it was hard as his cell phone continued to vibrate; he huffed as he gave up, reached for his phone, and answered it.

                “This is Weston.”

                “Weston, we have an emergency in the office in case you haven’t heard, and we need all hands on deck.” Agent Donovan remarked.

                Mike rolled his eyes “I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” He said before hanging up the phone.

                This whole situation wasn’t making sense to Mike; first he’s suspended and then somebody attacks his place of work, then he gets called back in.

                “ _I_ _should have turned my phone off._ ” He thought as he forced himself out of bed.

 

               

                The wreckage was massive as Mike climbed his way into the headquarters; watching as agents surveyed every inch of the building collecting evidence and taking pictures of the crime scene.

                He counted at least 4 body bags as he made his way to Donovans’ office, he was sure that he would hear about the lost agents and the explanation behind the gaping hole in the side of the building.

                Mike knew he had to pace himself as he knocked on Donovans’ door before entering his office.

                “Oh, good, you’re here.” Agent Donovan remarked, walking around from behind his desk and looked at Mike, who was beginning to show strong signs of fatigue.

                Mike stood eye to eye with Agent Donovan who continued his debriefing of the situation “Seven agents are dead, twelve more are injured; we have one missing inmate and two suspects.” Agent Donovan remarked.

                “Dare I ask who?” Mike asked.

                Agent Donovan smirked “You’re little girlfriend.”

                Mike mentally screamed in his head, a grimace surfaced on his face but he remained calm as he nodded at Agent Donovan.

                “ _Are you fucking kidding me!? How could she cause ANY more problems!?!?_ ” Mike thought to himself, not realizing that Agent Donovan was beginning to talk again.

                Mike went back to focusing on Agent Donovan who began to pace in his office “I want you to get Ryan Hardy here, right now!” he demanded.

                “Ryan Hardy? Are you sure?” Mike asked.

                Agent Donovan stopped his pacing and glared at Mike “Yes. I am sure. And when he gets here, I am going to show him the message the suspects left behind.”

                “Message, what message?” Mike asked.

                Agent Donovan smirked again “…down the hall, to the left.” He said before walking back to his desk.

 

 

                The blood red letters read JOE CARROLL LIVES across the blank white wall; in a way, Mike was thrilled to call Ryan and ask for his help because he was at a complete and total loss.

                Mike pulled out his cell phone and dialed Ryans’ number as he looked at his watch; it was almost four in the morning.

                “Hello?” a grumbled voice answered.

                Mike let a small smile out “Hey, it’s me.”

                “Me? Whoever this is---you better have a good fucking reason for calling me at…FOUR IN THE MORNING!? What the hell—WHO the hell is this??” Ryan nearly screamed into the phone.

                Mike stood awkwardly in the hall; glad that nobody else could hear the train wreak that was Ryan Hardy at four in the morning.

                “…Ryan, it’s Mike.” Mike finally said after letting Ryan cool down a bit.

                The other end was silent for a moment “Oh…oh, I’m sorry about that. What’s up?”

                “Well, I’m at FBI Headquarters and I’ve been tasked with getting you here.” Mike explained.

                Mike could hear Ryan fumbling around in his apartment “Oh yeah, why?” he asked.

                “…the case just went full blown Joe Carroll.” Mike said.

                Ryan huffed “Okay, I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” He said before hanging up the phone.

               

 

                Ryan and Mike both stood staring at the wall, Ryan had a cup of coffee in his hands and sipped on it, trying to prepare himself for the storm that was Agent Donovan.

                Agent Donovan approached the both of them with a file “Emma Hill and Luke Taylor came in after causing a distraction that involved blowing a wall out in the East corridor, they came in, killed a few agents in their way, and found Ms. Greene. When they found her, they escaped through an emergency exit right by the holding station.” He said before handing Mike the file.

                Mike opened the file to see surveillance pictures of the three cult members running towards an SUV and leaving the station.

                “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Mike muttered to himself.

                Ryan leaned over to see the pictures “They literally just walked out.” He stated.

                Agent Donovan nodded “I’m not sure what they’re trying to pull here; I mean, are they really preparing for the comeback of Joe Carroll? Or is this just another distraction from something else?” he asked.

                Ryan smirked “Joe Carroll is dead. It’s a fact. So maybe this is his groupies’ way of getting back at the FBI?” he suggested.

                Mike closed the file “Either way, we’ll figure it out.” He said before walking away.

                Ryan followed suit, leaving Agent Donovan behind as he watched his friend scowl his way back to his corner desk.

                “So, this is great! We’ve got the band back together!” Ryan said, trying to cheer up the younger agent.

                Mike turned to Ryan “No, Ryan, the band is not back together. Deborah isn’t here.” He muttered, putting the file down at his desk.

                Ryan frowned “I know, man.”

                Mike sighed “And you know, if she was, she’d be very disappointed in me.” He said.

                “Why would you say that?” Ryan asked.

                “Because of all this shit going on between Sarah and me; I mean, I’m in the middle of an interrogation, and I confess my still strong feelings for her…in front of everyone!” Mike stated.

                Ryan shook his head “No, Mike, she wouldn’t be disappointed.” He said, putting a hand on his shoulder “If anything, she would be concerned. But no, not disappointed.” He said, patting his shoulder before taking his hand back.

                Mike sighed “I just thought all of this was over a year ago—I finally found something worth living for, and it turned out that it was just a façade; it was just another trap. I’m never going to leave this stupid case behind.” Mike remarked.

                Ryan shook his head “No, we’re going to finish this…and if Joe is really alive, I’m going to put a bullet in him myself and then it’ll be over.” He said, assuring Mike.

                Mike smiled “What would I do without you?” he asked.

                Ryan shrugged “I don’t know. But I don’t think it would be good.”   


	16. Chapter 16

 

 

            Things were unusually quiet around the large office as Ryan and Mike tried to locate the three cult members with Deidre; but it was proving to be easier said than done.

            Every thirty minutes or so, Mikes’ phone would go off, however he refused to answer it; which alarmed Ryan as he cocked an eye brow.

            “Who keeps calling you?”  Ryan asked.

            Mike shook his head “I don’t know, the number isn’t familiar.”

            “So, you’re just letting it go to voicemail?” Ryan asked him.

            Mike shrugged “They aren’t leaving any messages—but it’s the same number every time.” He remarked.

            Ryan nodded “Maybe it’s one of your brothers…or family in general?” he asked.

            Mike shook his head “No. They would have told me earlier if they had gotten a new number…besides, they would have left a message.” He said.

            He threw his cell phone on the table as he and Deidre watched surveillance footage of the SUV leaving the parking lot, hoping they could see which direction they went in but it was no use; the darkness outside consumed the vehicle.

             Deidre finally gave up, leaning back in her chair “I can only do so much, Weston—it’s a dead end.” She finally admitted.

            Mike nodded “Well thanks for trying.” He said, smiling at his co-worker before walking away and towards Ryan who was on the phone with someone having a quiet argument.

            Ryan huffed “Look, I have to go—we will talk about this when I get back, alright?” he muttered before hanging up his phone and turning back to Mike.

            Mike cocked an eye brow at his friend who let out a tired sigh “Lily—we had plans for breakfast before work, but…” he trailed off.

            The young agent nodded “Understandable.” He said.

            Mikes’ phone began to vibrate against the table; Deidre huffed as she began to type away on her computer “If you don’t answer it, I will.” She said with her infamous sassy tone.

            Ryan turned to Mike who shook his head, walking away and out the office, leaving Deidre and Ryan alone in the office.

            The older gentleman huffed, walking over to Mikes’ phone and answered it quickly “Hello?”

            “Oh, hi…um, is Mike there?” the soft voice asked on the other end.

            Ryan placed a hand on Deidres’ shoulder “Sarah?” he asked.

            “Yeah. Who is this?” she asked.

            “This is Ryan.” He said.

            Ryan didn’t have to tell Deidre who was on the other end of the phone as she began to tap away on her laptop, beginning a trace on Mikes’ phone.

            “Oh, Ryan, hi.” Sarah said in her soft voice.

            “Hi, Sarah. What’s going on? Where are you?” Ryan asked, beginning to pace in the small office.

            Sarah sighed “Oh, Ryan, if I told you, Emma would have us both killed. Listen, is Mike there?” she asked.

            Ryan looked down at his feet, then back up where Mike was entering the office once again “Y’know, Sarah, he is…but I don’t think he wants to talk to you right now.” He said, making direct eye contact with Mike.

            Sarah sighed “God, this is such a disaster.” She muttered.

            “You’re telling me.” Ryan muttered back to her.

            Mike crossed his arms as Ryan continued to talk to Sarah and Deidre continued to track the signal down to hopefully find where Sarah and her friends were hiding.

            “Can you give Michael a message for me?” Sarah asked Ryan.

            Ryan sighed “Yeah, sure. I’ll give him a message.” He responded.

            Mike turned towards Deidre who was seconds away from finding the location, he turned back to Ryan who was still managing to hold up a conversation with Sarah before Deidre smirked “Got it.” She said.

            The young agent turned to Ryan who sighed “Alright, Sarah, I will let him know to call you…yes, just call the number back, okay. Nice talking to you too. Bye.” He said before hanging up the phone.

            “That girl can talk.” Ryan muttered before handing the phone back to Mike.

            Ryan and Mike both looked at the computer where Deidre sighed “She made the call from Massachusetts.” She announced.

            Mike smirked “I’ll tell Donovan.”

            He left the office in a rush, leaving Ryan and Deidre alone in the office; Ryan took a closer look at the map that Deidre was looking at, trying to find the exact location.

            “Where exactly in Massachusetts?” Ryan asked her.

            Deidre began looking closer into the map “Taunton, Massachusetts.” She said before turning to Ryan.

            Ryan nodded off to himself, looking closer to see how big the town looked on the map to get an idea of how long it would take to track down Sarah and her team; that is, if they were still there.

            Mike rushed back in “Okay, they’re gathering a small team and in about an hour, they’re going to start heading over there.”

            Ryan nodded “’They’? Not ‘we’?” he asked Mike.

            “Still off the case?” Deidre asked him.

            Mike nodded “Yep.”

            “What, so they expect me to go and you to stay? That doesn’t seem right.” Ryan said, crossing his arms.

            “Yes, whatever shall the FBI do without their dynamic bromance duo.” Deidre muttered.

            Ryan and Mike both turned to Deidre, who went back to laptop “This is why I don’t try to have a sense of humor.” She muttered again.

            Mike smiled before turning back to Ryan “I’m still technically suspended, but shit hit the fan so they needed everybody on deck.” He explained.

            “Well that sucks.” Ryan remarked.

            Mike shrugged “What am I going to do?” he asked rhetorically before leaving the office.

            Ryan followed suit “So Donovan is just going to bench you, even after everything?” he asked.

            Mike nodded “Yeah, and after everything—yes, I’m okay with it.” He said, walking back to his corner desk.

            “No! No, Mike, I can’t live with that answer.” Ryan said “We’re gonna go to Massachusetts and we’re going to get Sarah, Emma, and that other guy and bring them back here! And then we’re going to stop Joe—if Joe is actually out there!” Ryan said, almost giving Mike a pep talk.

            Mike nodded “At some point, somebody tells me that, and it never really happens.” He said, sitting down at his desk and looking over his repetitive notes. 


	17. Chapter 17

 

 

            She sighed heavily as she put the phone back down on the table by her; she looked out to the open Massachusetts sky as she watched the sun beginning to rise for the day, giving her warmth as it did.

            Sarah knew that the FBI traced the call, and she knew that they had found a location—it was only a matter of time.

            The silence was nice for a change; she was tired of Emma going on and on about nothing and Luke with his charismatic charm that was getting quite annoying.

            “Good morning, star shine! The Earth says hello!” Luke said in his usually perky upbeat tone.

            Sarah rolled her eyes “Oh, god.” She muttered to herself.

            Luke smirked as he took the porch seat next to her “Oh, Sarah Bear, don’t be like that! C’mon, I thought we were friends!”

            “We’re not friends!” Sarah stated, looking back at the sun rise.

            Luke pouted “Of course, we are! What? Are you just missing your little Pooky Bear—that FBI agent? Babe, you can do so much better!” he said, almost taunting her.

            “Fuck you.” She said, crossing her arms.

            Luke nodded “Very well.” He said as he rested his arms on both arms rests of the chair “Boy, does the early bird get the worm on this—Emma is missing out on this view!”

            “Could you just shut up for like two seconds? I’m trying to enjoy this.” Sarah said, snapping her head at Luke before turning back to the view.

            Sarah couldn’t stop thinking about Mike; she wished that this whole thing could blow over so she could try and repair their relationship; but Emma was adamant that he wouldn’t want her back.

            _“Fuck her.”_ She thought, the only love of Emmas’ life was Joe, who was probably hiding out in plain sight, waiting to get back out there and start another rampage.

            Emma didn’t know what it was like to long for something so much that her heart was breaking, Emma always got what she wanted.

            Sarah took a deep breathe in “Luke, I fucked up.” She admitted.

            Luke turned to Sarah “What? No you didn’t!” Luke said with his flirtatious smile.

            Sarah shook her head “No, I did. We have to leave.” She said.

            He lost his smile “Why?” he asked.

            “I called Mike.”

            Luke sat up in his head “You called Mike?”

            Sarah nodded “Yeah. But Mike didn’t answer, Ryan Hardy did.” She said.

            Luke was silent as he stared her down with his bright blue eyes.

            “They traced the call.” Sarah said.

            Luke sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair and watched the sun continue to rise “Then I guess I better wake up Grumpy, and hit the road.” He said, getting out of his seat.

            Sarah nodded, staying in her seat “You and Emma go ahead, I’m going back to New York.” She said.

            “Don’t be stupid, lets go.” Luke remarked.

            Sarah shook her head, standing up from her seat and facing Luke “No. I am so tired of decisions being made for me by you or Emma. I’m making the call. You and Emma go to Connecticut, I’ll meet up.” She said.

            Luke looked her over, Sarah was being serious; he dropped his charismatic act for the moment “Fine. But you call us when you get there.” He said before walking back inside the condo.

            “I will.” She muttered to herself.

 

 

           

            The team had left for Massachusetts and Mike was left behind; both Deidre and Ryan left which gave Mike nothing to do but sit around at his desk.

            Mike played with his phone, seeing the 20 missed calls from the unknown number, which turned out to be Sarah.

            He wondered if she would pick up if he called her _“Should I risk it?”_ he asked himself before he hit the call back button and put the phone to his ear.

            “We’re sorry, but the number you have reached is out of service.” The automated operator told him.

            Mike hung up the phone “Damn it, Sarah.” He muttered to himself, putting his phone back in his pocket incase anybody needed him.

            He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes; he hadn’t had a good nights sleep since…well even he couldn’t remember it had been that long.

            He was certain that the last time he had a good night sleep, Sarah was with him; she was in his arms, and they were cuddling, or spooning.

            It didn’t matter, she was there.

            Mike shook the thought away; it didn’t matter, Sarah was a follower, and nothing would change that.

            He finally stood up from his chair and stretched, beginning to take a walk throughout the building to help his nerves and maybe he could think about the case, even though technically he wasn’t on the case.

            Mike looked around as construction crews began to work at putting the building back together and a janitorial team began to clean up the message on the white wall.

            He stared at it all for a moment, realizing how ridiculous this was all becoming; he didn’t feel like an FBI agent anymore, he felt like a performing monkey.

            Mike felt a vibration coming from his pants; he began digging for his cell phone and began reading the text message from Ryan.

            _“We got to Taunton, hopefully this will be quick._ ” Ryan messages.

            Mike smirked; texting back a quick message then put the phone back in his pocket, and began to walk again.

            His phone vibrated again, thinking it was Ryan, Mike pulled his phone and smiled at the new text message, but it wasn’t from Ryan.

            The unidentified number texted a quick ‘miss you’ message with several X’s and O’s; he knew that it was from Sarah.

            Mike huffed, he wanted to let it go because there was no way he could track it; but he couldn’t.

            _“Maybe I can text back?_ ” he thought, sending her a text asking her where she was, but she never answered.

            “Figures.” He muttered under his breathe.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically smut.   
> You've been warned.

 

 

            He left the headquarters after doing a little more than a 24-hour shift; it was a little after 6 and the sun was already setting as he walked into his apartment.

            Mike dropped everything on the couch and steadily made his way into the kitchen in the dark before turning on the kitchen and noticing that something wasn’t right.

            His entire kitchen was clean; the dishes done and put away, the counters clean and vacant of any stray glasses or plates.

            Mike turned around and faced his living room, turning on the light to see that his scattered clothes that trailed in his apartment were missing; he walked into his bedroom to find the bed made and everything in order.

            “...creepy.” he muttered, backing out of the bedroom and back into the living room where the light had been turned off.

            Mike reached for his gun and pulled it out gently, whoever had cleaned his apartment was still in it as he looked around in the dark a moment before he backed into something that gasped.

            He quickly turned around, grabbing it by its throat and throwing it into the closest wall which was the one by the kitchen; he pointed his gun at Sarahs cheek while she was holding tightly to his hand that was nearly choking her.

            “What the hell are you doing here, Sarah?” he hissed at her.

            She shook her head, trying to get away from Mikes’ grasp when he finally loosened his grasp on her to let her breathe “I came to see you.” She whispered.

            “We’ve had this discussion already. Twice.” He told her.

            Sarah grabbed Mikes’ gun and pushed it away from her cheek, forcing Mike to drop his gun “I know, but third time’s a charm.” She said softly, stroking his cheeks with her hands.

            Mike let go of her throat “I can’t do this right now.” He told her, pushing her hands away.

            Sarah sighed “Sure you can.” She told him, pulling him in for a gentle kiss.

            At that moment, Mike threw all the logic and all of his FBI training out the window; he pushed Sarah harder into the wall as he began to make-out with her; meanwhile, her hands guided themselves down to his jeans where she unbuckled, then unbuttoned them, letting her hand snake beneath his boxers and began to stroke him.

            Mike groaned as he kissed her, his hands sliding down the lengths of her body as she continued to stroke him softly.

            He finally found himself again, pulling away from Sarah and removing her hand from his pants “I can’t do this. Sarah, I love you—but this is fucked up.” He muttered to her.

            Sarah shook her head “No-no-no.” she said, unbuttoning her shirt and exposing her lacy black bra; she took both of Mikes’ hands and placed them on top of her breasts before she pulled him in for another kiss.

            “Fuck me, Michael.” She nearly begged him in a low voice.

            Mike wanted her, he couldn’t deny it as he felt his appendage grow stronger by every passing moment; he gave her breasts a nice squeeze before he pulled away from the kiss.

            “This doesn’t change anything.” He told her.

            “Sure it doesn’t.” Sarah remarked sarcastically.

            Mike pulled her away from the wall and placed her on the kitchen table, his hand roughly riding up her skirt and pulling down her underwear all the way before he let his jeans and boxers fall to his ankles.

            He got in between her legs and penetrated her with full force; causing her to scream out a profanity as she held onto him for dear life.

            Mike didn’t care if he was hurting her, he didn’t care that he nearly tipped the table over with every thrust; in a sick and twisted way, this was payback.

            Sarah cried out, letting her hand comb up his mane as she begged and pleaded with him to ‘fuck her harder’, but Mike ignored her; this wasn’t about them, or her, it was simply about him and all his frustration coming out.

            “Oh, god, Mikey!” Sarah cried out, holding onto his head as she used the table to her advantage, giving Mike a sensation that he hadn’t felt before as Sarah moved with the table.

            Mike grabbed a handful of her hair, his thrusts getting fuller and rougher as time went on until the sensation Sarah was giving him was coming to a head, he felt his hips buckle, and then he felt it.

            He chocked on air as he came inside of Sarah, he grabbed her thighs as he pulled her closer to him with each small thrust before he finally stopped.

            Sarah heaved as she held onto Mike who began leaving gentle butterfly kisses on her neck; she felt him pull out slight when she started to feel his cum sliding down her thigh.

            “Oh, fuck,” she muttered as Mike pulled her in for a passionate kiss, taking her head in his hands as he gently pulled away “That hasn’t happened in a long time.” She spoke.

            Mike rested his forehead against hers “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” He muttered to her.

            Sarah let a grimace escape her lips as she began to slide back and away from Mike on the table, put he pulled her forward once again “What are you doing?” he asked her.

            “I’m gonna go clean up.” She murmured.

            Mike shook his head “Oh, I’m not done with you. After all the shit you’ve put me through these last few days—baby, you owe me.” He remarked before pulling her off the table and carrying her into the bedroom.

            He threw her on the bed, giving himself a moment to take his shoes and socks off, then his jeans and boxers that were still by his ankles.

            Sarah approached Mike and stood on her knees to pull off his FBI badge from around his neck and threw it carelessly on the floor, then unbuttoned his shirt and pulled off the t-shirt hiding underneath, finally exposing his completely naked body.

            Mike landed on top of her, pulling her unbuttoned shirt off of her body and throwing it aside, Sarah tilted her hips towards so she could unzip her skirt and let him pull it off of her.

            She was in nothing but her bra at that point, she held on to his arms as he looked down at her with his bright blue eyes.

            “Lets run away,” She told him softly “We can—we can start over, get married, have kids. We can forget about all of this.”

            Mike shook his head “What did I tell you?”

            “But this changes everything, Michael. You’re trying to act like the tough guy, but we both know you’re never going to be him.” Sarah remarked.

            He took her by her jaw “You don’t know me.”

            Sarah shook her head “I already do.” She muttered, taking her knee and gently pressing on his genitals, rubbing them slightly to cause friction.

            Mike gasped, not wanting to let the pleasure get to him as he took her calf and pushed her leg away from him like he did in the interrogation room.

            Sarah huffed, sitting up on the bed “What do you want me to do, huh? You want me to kill somebody? You want me to be a total bitch to you? Is that what you want? You want me to force you to fall out of love with me?” she nearly screamed as she slapped him across the face.

            Mike tackled her back onto the bed, pinning her hands on either side of her as he looked down at her, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she looked up at him.

            “I won’t stop, Michael. Stop trying to force yourself to do something you clearly don’t want.” Sarah nearly spat at him “I just want us to be together.” She continued.

            Mike shook his head “That’s never gonna happen.” He told her.

            “Then why are we fucking?” she taunted him.

            Mike was stumped, he wanted to give her the bull shit answer but he knew deep down that he wanted this because he wanted to be with her; he didn’t want to admit, but she already knew from the look in her eyes.

            She rolled on top of him, her knee once against rubbing up against his shaft, causing him to moan out loud.

            Sarah smirked as she leaned down and began to nibble on Mikes’ earlobe, putting him in a frenzy as he shot up in bed, taking Sarah with him.

            “Don’t do that, you know what that does!” He said.

            “Yeah, that’s why I’m doing it.” Sarah said in a taunting tone, leaning over and began to nibble on his earlobe.

            Mikes’ shallow breathing increased as his hands were place firmly on her back; he then began to occupy himself by undoing her bra which was easier said than done as Sarah worked on his earlobe.

            Her bra finally came undone and Mike gently tugged his ear away from Sarah to pull the bra off and now expose her naked body to him.

            Sarah tried to shield her body from his view but it didn’t stop Mike as he rolled Sarah on her stomach and got on top of her; he spaced her legs out just enough to give him some space as he entered her.

            She gripped on to the pillow as his thrusts were gentle and slow, she half expected him to thrust her into the headboard, but this was a complete 180 from earlier.

            “Mike.” She moaned softly as he continued to thrust; the position he had her in was amazing as she felt him completely as well as a sensation that she hadn’t felt before.

            Mike hit her spot over and over again, causing her to flinch in pleasure while he kissed her back and pushed hair away from her neck to kiss and taunt her accordingly.

            Sarah moaned, biting her lip as he picked up the pace a little; hitting her g-spot a little harder, almost forcing a loud grunt to escape her lips.

            “Mikey, baby…” Sarah moaned out before beginning to smother herself with the pillow.

            Mike smiled as his pace quickened every few seconds, until the headboard was hitting the wall; Sarah was beginning to feel a sensation within her as her legs began to quiver.

            Sarah reached behind her and grabbed the back of Mikes’ head who leaned down and kissed her shoulder blade before lacing his fingers with hers.

            She felt it coming, a huge orgasm coming to the surface when she finally let a blood-hurtling scream escape her lips.

            Mike stopped, rolled her to face him and smirked “You like that?” he taunted as he entered her again and began a fast pace of thrusts.

            She repeated his name over and over again as she continued to orgasm beneath Mike; she had never had one this long or powerful before she finally made eye contact with him that threw her over the edge.

            He slowed down his thrusts, letting Sarah come down from her orgasm just as he felt another one boiling up within him.

            “Oh, shit.” He muttered, burying his face into her breasts as his thrusts became uncontrollable before he came again.

              Mike groaned into Sarahs’ breasts, letting himself relax before he looked up at Sarah who was still out of breathe from her orgasm.

            He rolled off of Sarah, the both of them stared up at the ceiling and at the shadows that were coming in from the city below; Sarah took his hand and leaned closer to him.

            “I love you.” She said.

            Mike turned to her; this was where things got messy again “I love you too…”

            “But?” Sarah asked.

            Mike sighed, not sure how to explain the situation after having genuine bliss with her for the first time since before the revelation of her true identity.

            “You can’t have your cake and eat it too, babe.” He told her.

            Sarah nodded, the silence was killing him as she just laid there, the wheels in her mind turning before she finally looked back up at Mike.

            “Then lets just have tonight.” She muttered to him.

              


	19. Chapter 19

 

 

                They had gone six rounds before finally giving up and passing out for the night, Mike awoke early to find that he was alone in his apartment once again.

                Mike laid back down in his bed, replaying the entire night in his mind; a smile grew wide as he remembered Sarah and her wild side; he had found a whole different side of her that night.

                He remembered her kisses and her roughness; the yelling and the moaning, and the cumming again and again; it was a good night.

                Mike sighed as he thought about it all, was sex better now that Sarah was the enemy?

                He didn’t want to say ‘yes’ entirely, but it probably helped a little.

                Mike rolled over to his pillow, the smell of her perfume filling his nose; it gave him a chill down his spine while his appendage began to get excited once again.

                He pulled away from the pillow and began to think about work, Agent Donovan, Ryan and Joe kissing in a meadow; anything to calm himself down.

                Mike sighed, now knowing for sure that he was madly in love with Sarah, and not even her being a follower could change that; but he knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

                He grabbed his cell phone and began to check all his voicemails and text messages from throughout the night, still no word on if they had found the hideout but Mike assumed that both Luke and Emma had moved on at that point.

                The cell phone was placed back down on his night table, still having a few hours before he had to get back to work; he closed his eyes and began to think about finding Joe Carroll and ending all of this once and for all.

 

 

                Sarah walked into the new hideout with her keys clutched and her purse by her side, she shut the door quietly but it was too late at Emma appeared from around the corner.

                “Where the hell have you been?” she hissed.

                “New York. Just like I told Luke.” Sarah responded, dropping her keys and purse and walking past Emma and into the living room.

                “Is Sarah home?” they both heard Luke yell from the kitchen.

                Emma crossed her arms “Yes.” She said with a grimace.

                Luke walked out of the kitchen with his typical smile on his face “OH, good—you’re back! How was New York?” he said, walking out into the living room.

                Sarah looked at Luke as he approached the couch “Um, it was alright.” She said.

                Luke nodded “That’s great! Hey, I’m making breakfast…you want an omelet? You know what, I’ll make you a frittata since I’m in such a good mood!” he said, poking at her shoulder.

                Sarah turned to Emma “Has he been like this all morning?” she asked.

                “Yes, he’s been quite annoying…” she said, looking away from Emma “But his omelets are really good.” She muttered.

                Sarah smirked, adjusting herself in her seat when Luke gasped “What’s that?” he asked, brushing her hair away.

                “Nothing.” Sarah said defensively.

                Luke took a good look at the apparent teeth marks on her neck “Oh, my…are those…are those bite marks?” he asked.

                Sarah hit his hand away “Maybe.”

                Luke pulled up the sleeve of her shirt “Are those—are those bruises?”

                “So what if they are, what’s it to you?!” Sarah remarked, beginning to really get defensive.

                Luke let a playful smirk escape his lips “Did Agent Weston do this to you?”

                “Agent Weston? You mean, Mike Weston? You went to New York to see your little boyfriend?” Emma nearly hissed.

                Sarah huffed “Yes. He did. But I gave him a couple of bruises too, so we’re even.”

                Emma cocked an eye brow “Did you guys get into a fight?” she asked almost concerned about her fellow cult member.

                “Oh, no! God—no!” Sarah said, brushing that thought away.

                Luke gasped with joy “You and Agent Weston got freaky!” he accused.

                Sarah gagged “You know, when you say it like that, it’s kind of creepy.” She said.

                “Fine! You guys got jiggy with it, did the dance with no pants, did the horizontal hustle…need I go on?” Luke said.

                Emma grumbled “You went to New York to have sex with your FBI agent boyfriend? Do you know how stupid that is?”

                Sarah stood up from her seat “You know what—I didn’t intend to go to New York to have amazing things done to me, I just wanted to talk, but things got a little out of hand. Do I regret it? No, not at all. Besides, he got taken off the case.”

                Emma let a small smile escape her lips “He’s off the case?”

                “Yeah, but Ryan Hardy is on it now—so, greater evil, moving on!” Sarah said, crossing her arms.

                The smile on Emmas’ face vanished with another frown taking its place “Great.” She muttered under her breathe.

                “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower and possibly change if I can find my room.” Sarah remarked before walking down the hallway.

                “…you’re the last door on the right.” Luke called out.

                Emma glared at Luke fiercely, he was getting on her last nerve as he simply let a smile out “Don’t be jealous because she got some and you haven’t for the past year sweetie—it’s not healthy” Luke remarked before walking back into the kitchen.

                The young girl huffed, none of this was going according to plan; at the moment she was missing Jacob and Paul “Those fucking whiney bitches.” She muttered under her breathe as she sat on the couch, staring at the blank television.

 

 

 

                Mike returned to work with a light smile plastered on his face, he attempted to hide the scratches and bruises along his arms with his jacket, but it was a particularly warm day in the office.

                He got to his desk to find a few ‘missed call’ notices from Agent Donovan about the trip to Taunton; Mike sighed as he put the notices aside and placed his bag on top of the desk, pulling out case files that he had taken home but never got around to look at.

                Mike sat down and began to review his notes when his cell phone vibrated, he pulled it out to see a text message from Ryan.

                _“We found the hide-out, but they’re gone. We’re hoping to find something that would indicate where they went._ ” The text said.

                Mike sighed “It’ll be a dead end.” He muttered to himself “Perfect.”

               


	20. Chapter 20

 

            Mike became the extra intel guy for the away team as both Ryan and Agent Donovan shot information at him to look into.

            Deidre sent him information to work with in e-mails and a shared network, Mike was getting in so much information that he was having a hard time keeping up as he tapped away at the laptop.

            “Okay, okay…slow down!” Mike finally said on the speaker phone as Ryan and Agent Donovan began trying to cut each other off to talk.

            Mike face palmed himself as he quit typing and let Ryan and Agent Donovan argue on the phone, he let a small smile escape his lips as Ryan gave the superior agent a snapping insult.

            “Are you two done?” he heard Deidre ask.

            Mike continued to smile as the other end of the phone went silent for a minute or two.

            “…hello?” Mike asked after the silence made it seem like they had hung up.

            “Yeah, Weston, we’re still here. Mitchell is sending you the surveillance footage. Ms. Hill and Mr. Taylor are leaving, but your girlfriend is missing.” Agent Donovan remarked.

            Mike had to stop himself from rolling his eyes “Missing?” he asked, trying to act surprised.

            “Yes.” Agent Donovan responded.

            Mike brought up the footage, watching the ten minutes before and after Emma and Luke left the hotel they were staying at.

            He spotted almost immediately, leaving 7 minutes on the dot earlier; he smiled gently as he cleared his throat “She left early…about 10 minutes according to the time stamp; hey Deidre, could you send me all the other camera angles? Maybe I can figure out which direction everybody went in.” he remarked.

            Mike had begun doing his job, which made it bitter sweet because he knew exactly where Sarah went, up until she left his apartment in the early morning hours.

            “Already sending them your way.” She said before Mike got 3 more surveillance angles sent to him.

            Mike took a deep breathe in “Alright, lets do this.” He said, rubbing his hands together.

 

 

            Emma and Luke were at it again, fighting in front of the T.V while Sarah sat unamused trying to watch said T.V.

            “No, you and your little attitude need an adjustment—this is a team effort, Pixie Queen!” Luke hissed.

            “Fuck you! Ever since you got here, you’ve been a pain mine and Sarahs’ ass!” Emma retorted.

            “Leave me out of this!” Sarah murmured, trying to focus on the T.V soap opera she was watching.

            They two argued for awhile longer before Sarah gave up, screaming at the top of her lungs, turning off the T.V and standing up in front of them “YOU TWO!!! OH MY GOD…it has been bickering, and yelling, and fighting since the three of us got together! I don’t know what your problems are, but this needs to end! We have a plan—and that plan is about to go up into flames if you two can’t get your sticks out of your asses!” she yelled at them.

            Luke and Emma turned to her, Luke pouted before letting a gentle chuckle out “Aw, she’s so cute when she tries!”

            Sarah clenched her jaw, about to pounce on Luke and take him for all he was worth when a loud knock came to the door; the house went silent as she three of them looked at each other.

            “I’ll get it.” Sarah said, unsure and nervous as she walked away from Luke and Emma and towards the front door.

            She answered it, the door wide enough so she could see who was at the door, and the new guests surprised her.

            “Luke?” she asked as the identical twin entered the house.

            He stared at her with vacant eyes “Mark.” He said before walking fully into the house, she could hear Luke greeting his brother with joy.

            Sarah began to close the door when a hand stopped her, pushing the door forward a little and another man entered the house.

            “Hello, darling.” The familiar British accent said.

            Sarah let a bright smile escape “Joe.” She said, reaching in to give him a big hug.

            “It’s good to see you, my lovely Lenore.” He said, stroking her cheek as he pulled away from the hug, only to stop when he saw the impression of a bite mark on her neck.

            “…is that a bite mark?” Joe asked, pushing hair back to get a good look at the fading injury.

            “Uh…yes?” Sarah said, hoping he didn’t push it any further.

            Joe hummed “Whose been biting you?” he asked.

            Sarah smiled “Don’t worry about it.” She said “Can I get your coat?” she asked him.

            Joe nodded “Yes, love.” He said, taking his heavy coat off and handing it to Sarah before he walked into the living room.

            Sarah hung his coat in the closet and walked into the living room where Joe shook Lukes’ hand but then stared at Emma for a moment longer.

            The silence grew big enough until it hit awkward proportions; the twins stood side by side and Sarah remained by the foyer as the two infamous love birds continued to stare for a moment longer before Emma lunged forward and kissed Joe.

            The awkwardness of watching them kiss was worse then the silence as Luke turned away nervously and over at Sarah, who looked at him just so she wouldn’t have to witness the make-out session going on in the living room.

            “Excuse us.” Joe said to the three of them before picking Emma up and away into the back hall where her bedroom door quickly shut.

            The twins and Sarah stood in place for a moment, listening to the giggles coming from the back hallway; Sarah cleared her throat “Well, that was awkward.” She finally said.

            Luke and Mark turned to her in silence, Sarah uncomfortably smiled as she walked into the living room “…anybody up for a snack?” she offered.

            “Yeah, in fact, I’ll help you!” Luke said, walking into the kitchen.

            Sarah and Mark stared at each other for a moment “It’s nice to meet you.” Sarah said, trying to break the tension.

            Mark continued to stare at her with his hands in his pockets; Sarah nodded uncomfortably before walking into the kitchen where Luke was already making a ruckus. 


	21. Chapter 21

            It was awkward as the twins and Sarah sat on the couch, listening to Emma and Joe go at it; they had been in there ‘going at it’ for awhile now while they sat in completely silence.

            Sarah tilted her head back against the frame of the couch as Luke looked down at his watch before looking out the window at the night sky.

            Silence finally engulfed the house as the three awkward followers turned to the hallway; Luke looked down at his watch again then sighed “…it’s been four hours.” He said before turning to Sarah.

            “What’s your record?” he asked her.

            “My what?”

            “Your record…with you and Mike…” he said, tilting his head down while his eyes stayed on Sarah.

            Sarah gave Luke a disgusted look, but she knew it was better to just answer him as she began to look out the window as well “Five hours.” She admitted.

            Mark turned to Sarah, feeling his eyes on her she turned to him “Don’t judge, you don’t know me.”

            Luke smiled “And was this record made the other night?” he asked her.

            “If I say ‘yes’, can we stop talking about it?” Sarah asked.

            Luke smiled “This Weston guy is my new hero.” He said before getting up off the couch “Well, it is getting late, and I am going to go to bed. Goodnight and sweet dreams.” He said, now walking down the hallway and walking into the bedroom across the hall from Emma’s.

            Sarah scooted over and away from Mark, who was still as silent as he was when he arrived; she could feel his eyes on her and it was starting to make her uncomfortable when she finally turned and looked at him.

            They stared at each other for a long while before Sarah cleared her throat “Well, goodnight.” She said before getting up from the couch and walking down the hallway to her bedroom, hoping to pass out before Emma and Joe started up again.

 

 

            Mike was kept busy all night with going through every piece of evidence that the team had located at the hotel suite in Taunton.

            His fingers were going numb and his eyes were starting to lose focus as he began to constantly blink and look away from his computer screen.

            Mike sighed, taking his fingers off the keyboard and letting them dangle off the chair; he rested his head back and looked up at the ceiling.

            “ _I should go for a walk…maybe take a break, go grab a late snack.”_ He thought to himself as he looked at his watch.

            It was pushing 10:30 at night, he had been there for over 12 hours and he was surprised that nobody came in to check on him as he sat in the dark, going over every spec of evidence that Deidre sent over.

            Mike got up from his chair and walked into the bright hallway where agents were crossing paths and talking amongst each other while the young agent rubbed his eyes as he walked, trying to adjust to the new sensation of light.

            He walked out into the cold air, admiring the darkness once again as he made his way to his car, thinking of what he was hungry for, if anything.

            _“Maybe I should just go home, get some sleep?”_ Mike thought to himself as he entered his car, then turning on the engine to get the heat flowing.

            Home. Home would be nice. Mike wanted to go back to his apartment and get some sleep, close his eyes for as many hours as he could before his cell phone would go off and he would be called back into work.

            “Home.” Mike muttered to himself as he buckled himself in and began to long drive back to his apartment.

 

 

            He dreamed that he was still at work, typing away on his computer and looking through all the files and security footage.

            Mike awoke, being frustrated with himself at how while he was physically in his bed, spiritually he was at work, still working.

            He sat up in his bed, looking at his alarm clock that read 2:34 A.M, he stretched before he grabbed his cell phone and checked for missed calls and text messages; but his phone was empty—something he had never experienced before.

            Mike made sure, checking all his mailboxes before he gently put his phone down, and laid back down in his bed, staring up at the ceiling before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 

            He heard it not long after, in the middle of a sleep cycle he heard his cell phones constant buzzing against the wood of his night table; he reached out for his phone and answered it quickly.

            “This is Weston.” He fumbled together.

            There was a small silence on the other end for a moment “Are you still at the office?” Ryan asked.

            Mike moaned as he stretched, sitting up in his bed “No, in a moment of weakness, I went home.” He remarked.

            Ryan chuckled “That is not weakness, that is common sense.” He said.

            “What do you want, Ryan?”  he asked.

            Ryan cleared his throat “Agent Donovan wants you back on the case.” He said.

            “I don’t want to be on the case, I want to sleep.” He said in a sluggish tone.

            “Well, that’s too bad---you can sleep when Joe Carroll is dead, and his groupies are too…or in jail…whichever comes first.” Ryan said.

            Mike groaned “Why are you telling me this? Why can’t Donovan tell me himself?” he asked.

            “Because Donovan is trying to run the operation, and he figured you’d like to hear it from me than him.” Ryan retorted.

            Mike sighed “Okay. Do I meet you in Taunton, or…where?” he asked, slowly getting out of bed and immediately walking into the kitchen to start the coffee pot; it was going to be a long drive.

            “Yeah. Taunton…we might relocate if this one lead pans out.” Ryan said.

            “What lead?”  Mike asked.

            “Oh, the dynamic duo left some evidence behind, including a map.” Ryan told Mike.

            Mike walked back into his bedroom and pulled out his overnight bag “And what’s on the map?” he asked.

            “It’s indicating Connecticut.” Ryan said.

            Mike let a yawn out as he began to pack a few pair of clothes “Okay, I’ll call you when I get into Taunton. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He said before hanging up the phone.

            It was bittersweet being pulled back into the case, he enjoyed not having to waste every moment of his time freaking out about what was next the case, but he also didn’t like desk work.

            Mike remembered the last time he was put on desk duty, he shivered at the thought; he made a personal promise to himself that the Joe Carroll case would be finished for good. 


	22. Chapter 22

                Her eyes shot open, waking up from a nightmare before she sat up in her bed and took a deep breathe.

                “It was just a dream.” She muttered to herself, now feeling the hot sweat on her body.

                Sarah pushed the sheets back and she climbed out, quietly opening her bedroom door and exiting her bedroom to walk down the hall and into the kitchen to fetch herself a glass of water.

                She turned on the light and grabbed glass from the clean side of the sink and turned on the tap water; she hoped nobody could hear her as she turned off the tap and began to sip on her water.

                Sarah walked out of the kitchen, beginning to turn off the light when she saw somebody sitting on the couch, she jumped from the surprise before realizing that it was only Joe.

                “Joe.” She said gently.

                Joe turned around and looked at Sarah “Oh, hello, love. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said with his charismatic smile.

                Sarah smiled, looking down at her glass of water “It’s okay.” She muttered.

                “Come sit with me, I’ve hardly seen you all day!” he said, welcoming her on the couch.

                Sarah walked over and sat next to him on the couch, still keeping her distance while Joe looked her over gently “How have you been?” he asked her.

                She smiled “I’ve been good. How have you been?” she asked him.

                “I’ve been alright. Lonely, very lonely…but it’s nice to be back with my family.” He remarked, letting an even bigger smile escape his lips.

                Sarah hummed, nodding off to herself before looking down at her glass of water before taking another sip; as she did, Joe pushed her hair away from her neck to expose the still fading bite marks on her neck.

                Joe cleared his throat, letting her hair hide the marks once again “Emma informs me that you have feelings for Agent Weston.” He said gently.

                Sarah blushed, shaking her head “No. No…I don’t have feelings for him.” She said, trying so hard to sound convincing.

                He put a hand on her shoulder “Sarah, look at me.” He instructed her.

                Sarah sighed, turning to Joe who gently smiled at her “Love is a very splendid thing, it’s also a very complicated thing as well.” He said “And if you are in love with Agent Weston, I won’t argue with it.” He told her.

                “…but it does concern me, about your loyalty to the cause.” Joe said, now taking the conversation in a more serious direction.

                Sarah cleared her throat “Joe, I’m here. I’m with you. My loyalty to you is a strong as ever…even though it might not seem like it at the moment.” She said.

                “I’ll get over him.” She said, trying to put Joe at ease.

                She couldn’t believe she let that lie slip, she wanted to slap herself silly for saying such a thing; but the focus was on Joe, and Joe being able to trust her.

                “If you say so.” He said in his refined British accent.

                They sat in silence, Joe tapped his fingers against the back of the couch as he continued to stare at Sarah “Was he a good lover?” he asked her.

                Sarah became awkward, hiding her face in her hair as Joe continued to stare at her “Umm.” Was the only word she managed out as Joe huffed.

                “I’m sorry, that was a bit intrusive! I’ve had too many Whiskeys on the Rocks I’m afraid.” He said with a gently chuckle.

                Sarah let an awkward laugh out “No—no, it’s alright. I mean, Luke asked me earlier today the same thing…but…you know.” She said, now becoming unable to finish a sentence.

                It was even more awkward then before when Sarah finally let an awkward smile out “Well, I’m gonna go back to bed, see if I can get a few more Z’s.” she said, getting up from the couch.

                “Goodnight, Joe.” She said before walking down the hallway and back into her bedroom.

 

 

 

                Mike made his way into Taunton finally after a near 4 hour drive, he was tired but he was tired of drinking coffee.

                He parked his car and crossed the street where several agents were gathered around the front of the hotel, eating donuts and sipping on coffee while the rest swarmed in and out.

                The hotel was packed as Mike looked for the hotel room when Ryan exited, taking a phone call and trying to distance himself from the hive that was the investigation.

                Mike walked in, looking around the hotel room where it was obvious that the agents had looked over every nook and cranny of the place when he ran into Agent Donovan.

                “Weston, good, you’re here.” He said, guiding him towards the dresser where several different types of papers were laid out.

                They had bee crumpled up, but then they were straightened out and checked for prints “Okay, what’s this?” Mike asked, looking them over.

                Agent Donovan crossed his arms “These were in the trash bags that the housekeeper took from the room, one map had a lots of writing and scribbles in a small area of Connecticut so we’re thinking that that’s where they’re headed.” He remarked.

                Mike nodded, looking over every piece of paper, most were receipts for groceries or gas; and Mike didn’t want to argue about the map since it was the only true lead.

                “Where exactly are we looking in Connecticut?” Mike asked.

                Agent Donovan pointed at a small area “It’s about a 5 mile radius, that’s what we’re thinking. I mean, Connecticut is a small state as it is, there’s only so many places they can hide out.” He remarked.

                Mike let a small smile out, Agent Donovan was getting cocky—in a sick way, he hoped something went wrong so Donovan would get off his high horse.

                “Okay, so what am I doing here?” Mike asked.

                “You and Hardy with a couple of agents are going to head to Connecticut, see if maybe you can find something.” Agent Donovan said.

                Mike huffed “I drove all the way to Taunton, Massachusetts only to be sent to Connecticut.” He murmured.

                Agent Donovan grimaced “It’s not that far of a drive, Weston; you’ll survive.” He said.

                Mike nodded, walking out of the room to find Ryan; if he needed to go to Connecticut, he wasn’t going to wait around.

 


	23. Chapter 23

            The drive was quiet, Ryan and Mike had the radio gently playing when Ryan finally turned to his friend “Did something happen?” he asked.

            Mike turned to him “What? No.” he said.

            “Why do you ask?” Mike asked, keeping his focus on the road.

            Ryan shrugged “I don’t know, you just seem…I don’t know, different.” He remarked.

            Mike shrugged “Nothing changed.” He remarked.

            Ryan cocked an eye brow “…tell me.”

            “Tell you what?”

            “Mike, something happened, I don’t know what—but something happened back in New York.” Ryan remarked.

            Mike sighed, he wasn’t sure if this conversation was meant to had on a drive down to Connecticut; but he figured that this was going to be the only time to tell Ryan about what had happened a few nights ago.

            “The night you left for Massachusetts, I got a visitor at my apartment.” Mike said, looking over at Ryan who cocked an eye brow at him.

            “…who?” he asked.

            Mike let a deep breathe out “Sarah.” He muttered.

            “Sarah stopped by??” Ryan nearly hissed.

            Mike nodded, Ryan scuffed as he bit his thumb, trying to figure out the right question to ask.

            “So what happened with Sarah at your apartment?” Ryan asked.

            Mike simply turned to Ryan, raising his eye brows as he gestured at Ryan who gasped, covering his mouth.

            “You didn’t!” Ryan remarked.

            “I did!” Mike said with guilt ridden in his voice.

            Ryan squirmed in his seat “You slept with her! You slept with a known fugitive---a Joe Carroll follower! Oh, Mike…” he said.

            Mike sighed “I know---but we ended things. For good. That night.” He said.

            “You guys are over, like over over?” Ryan asked.

            Mike nodded “Yeah. Yeah, it’s over.”

            Ryan sighed, a small frown on his face “I’m sorry man…really, that’s tough.” He said.

            The car was silent once again, Ryan looked out the window and casually glanced at Mike before the awkwardness finally became too much for him.

            “…so…how was the break-up sex?” Ryan asked.

            Mike smiled “It was amazing.” He said.

            “Amazing?” Ryan asked, letting a smile escape his lips.

            Mike nodded “Yeah.”

            Ryan chuckled “Okay. I’m not going to push it. Good for you.” He muttered.

 

 

            Sarah rummaged through the kitchen looking for things to make a breakfast for 5 with; but it was easier said than done.

            Luke was insistent about order, especially when he, Sarah, and Emma had agreed to take turns making breakfast for the household after all ‘it was the most important meal of the day’.

            She managed to find enough ingredients for pancakes and sausage when out of nowhere Luke turned the corner and nearly ran into her.

            He adjusted her hair, gently slapping her cheeks to bring some color in before he took her by her shoulders “Okay---so my brother has a thing for you so just go with it.” He told her.

            “What?” she asked confused.

            Luke huffed “Mark, my twin brother, yeah—he’s got a thing for tiny brunettes. So just keep being cute and all will go smoothly.” He remarked before running out of the kitchen and jumping onto the couch.

            Sarah was confused, but went back to making breakfast when a few minutes later, from the corner of her eye, she saw a figure approaching her; she turned to see the other twin, Mark, with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the fridge as he stared at her.

            She smiled awkwardly, then turning back to the pancake mix and giving it one last stir before gently pouring it on the pan.

            “Um, do-do you need some help?” Mark asked, slowly approaching Sarah.

            Sarah looked at Mark and looked around before shaking her head “Uh, no. No, I think I’ve got everything under control. Thank you, though.” She said before turning her focus back to the cooking pancakes.

            She watched from the corner of her eye as Mark nodded and began to back away slowly and out of the kitchen, she let a deep breathe out as the awkward situation finally passed.

            Just as Sarah was getting used to the loneliness of the kitchen when she could see from the corner of her eye a small blonde entering the kitchen and walking up to the stove.

            “How do you get them so fluffy?” Emma asked.

            “Practice.” Sarah remarked, patiently flipping over the two pancakes on the pan before turning to Emma.

            Emma crossed her arms “…so how was your night?” she asked.

            “Uncomfortable and awkward, how was yours?” Sarah asked, turning back to the pancakes, half-listening to Emma.

            Emma smiled “It was _good_.” She said, emphasis on the ‘good’.

            Sarah huffed “Yeah, I know. We heard.” She said, taking the pancakes and putting them on a plate.

            Emma watched for a moment while Sarah continued to make pancakes for the household for a moment before she walked out of the kitchen, joining the twins in the living room.

            Sarah finally finished making enough pancakes and sausage, moving everything over to the dining table where not soon after the Carroll clan began to swarm.

            She was rather proud of herself about breakfast, she had made pancakes before, but they had never looked that perfect before as she took a seat in between Mark and Emma who dug in almost immediately.

            Sarah stuck with just a single pancakes while everyone else piled them on, she looked across from her to see Joe trying to shove all three of his pancakes which made her smile as she took a small bite of hers.

            “This is excellent, really, Sarah.” Joe said, finally taking a breathe from eating his breakfast.

            Luke nodded, a smile on his face as he chewed on his bite “Yeah—I think my omelets has competition.” He said, swallowing his bite and immediately shoving another bite in.

            Sarah basked in her breakfast glory, taking another bite when she watched as Mark grab another pancake from the stack and drown it in syrup.

            Emma smiled, leaning over to Sarah “I think he likes your pancakes…and a little more.” She said with a light nudge before going back to her breakfast.

            She was tired of hearing that, Mark and Luke were both handsome, and though she told Joe of her ability to ‘move on’ from Mike, she knew that that was never going to happen. 


	24. Chapter 24

            They got to Connecticut and weren’t sure exactly what they were looking for as they looked around the sleepy town of New Britain.

Mike finally parked the car because he had finally given up and admitted that he needed to find a restroom before pulling up to a diner.

            “Okay, then.” Ryan said, getting out of his car “I’ll get us a booth—and you go do your thing.” He said, walking with Mike inside the diner.

            The smell of fresh cooked food hit their noses as Mike let a huge smile out “I want to live here.” He said, now listening to his stomach ‘talk’.

            Ryan pushed Mike aside as he walked to an empty booth and immediately began looking at the menu, tuning out the rest of the world for the moment.

            As he read through the small selection of breakfast combos’, Ryan looked up as the bell on the front door rang; he didn’t even realize he had a faint smile on his face when he saw the familiar face walking up to the counter.

            _“It can’t be. This can’t be that easy!”_ Ryan thought to himself as he watched the one and only Sarah Greene, accompanied by an unknown man, purchased a pie off from the counter.

            Ryan put his menu down, watching closely as Sarah and her acquaintance watched as the pie was transported into a container, which was then put into a paper bag and handed to Sarah.

            Her smile was huge as she took the bag, looking in the bag to admire the dessert before turning to the man and beginning to talk before they left the diner.

            Mike came to the table “Is the menu that bad?” he said, responding to the shaken look on Ryans’ face.

            “Stay here.” He muttered before getting out of the booth and beginning to follow Sarah and her friend to the parking lot.

            Ryan tried to stay a few feet behind as he watched Sarah and the man get into the car; he watched as Sarah began to sing along to the music blasting in the vehicle before pulling out of her spot and driving down the street.

            “Ryan? What is it?” Mike asked, following him out side.

            Ryan turned to Mike “They’re here.” He said “Call Donovan, tell him they’re here!” he remarked, walking back inside the diner.

            Mike walked with Ryan, confused by his remark “What makes you say that? Did you see something?” he asked.

            Ryan nodded “Yeah. I saw Sarah with some guy, they walked in and bought a pie.” He said.

            “They bought a pie?” Mike asked.

            “That’s what you got out of that??” Ryan remarked.

            Mike huffed “No-no…just…I don’t know.” He said, pulling out his cell phone and dialed Donovans’ number.

 

 

            Sarah tried everything in her power to not be uncomfortable around Mark who insisted he go with her to grab a Cherry pie.

            She sang along to the radio, talked about how frigid it was outside, and complained of how full of pancakes she was; but Mark continued to say nothing, he just stared.

            They pulled up to the rented house and parked, quickly making their way inside into the warmth of the house.

            “Okay, I have pie.” She announced, walking into the kitchen.

            A sarcastic ‘yay’ came from the living room, Sarah didn’t know who it was and she didn’t care as she placed the bag on the counter and pulled the container out of the bag.

            Sarah folded the bag up and tossed it aside only to realize that she hit someone in the chest; she jumped, turning to see Mark standing next to her.

            “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.” She said.

            Mark was still silent as he looked at her, Sarah huffed before completely facing him “Look, this silent treatment thing is kind of freaking me out, so could you start having a conversation with me or something?” she asked him.

            The serial killer took a step forward, looking down at the tiny girl before he leaned down and gently let his lips touch hers.

            Sarah was taken aback, but was rendered useless as she just stood there, letting Marks’ lips take hers, his fingers taking her neck and stroking her skin as they made their way down to her arms.

            Mark pulled away from the kiss and looked at her; Sarah was at a loss for words as she felt Marks’ fingers glide down her arms, his lips gently places on her neck and brushed then along her neck line.

            She placed her hands on his arms as he continued to brush her neck with his lips; Sarah stood back and knocked herself into the fridge, now feeling a tickling sensation on her neck as Mark continued.

            Sarah closed her eyes before gently pushing Mark away “I...” she muttered, trying to explain herself when she saw from the corner of her eye Luke was standing in the kitchen.

            “Oh, my bad. Continue.” Luke said before backing away slowly out of the kitchen.

            Sarah looked back at Mark and shook her head “I’m sorry, I can’t.” she muttered before gently pushing him away and leaving the kitchen, rushing down the hallway and into her bedroom.

           

 

            Mike and Ryan had questioned the waitress behind the counter about Sarah and the gentleman she was with; the waitress hadn’t seen or met either of them before that morning and was sticking with that story.

            They had gotten in contact with local police and let them know of the situation, the both of them could only hope that once the FBI arrived, everyone would keep it on the down low to not alarm the small cult.

            “Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Ryan asked him.

            Mike nodded “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” He said as they left the diner, now making their way to the local police department.

            Ryan nodded “Good! Cause, I’m freaking out!” he admitted.

            Mike couldn’t help but let a chuckle out “…I’m a bit anxious.” He admitted as well.

            “Don’t tell Donovan.” Ryan said, pointing at Mike as they entered the car.

            Mike smirked as he turned on the engine to the car “I will not.” He said, backing out of the parking lot and driving down the street. 


	25. Chapter 25

            The rest of team joined Mike and Ryan in the small towns’ sheriffs office, everybody scrambling to get things moving before Joe and his cult were on the run again.

            Agent Donovan started a debriefing of all the officers in the tiny office with pictures of the known suspects and began to explain the plan to discover the exact location of the cult.

            Mike and Ryan turned to each other, nearly rolling their eyes at Donovan “You’d think he’d of learned from his last ego trip.” Mike remarked quietly.

            Ryan smirked as he looked at Mike “I think the eye patch does him well.”

            Mike tried to hold back a laugh, suddenly getting the attention of Agent Donovan “Agent Weston, do we have a problem?” he asked.

            The young agent shook his head “No, sir.” He said, gently shaking his head.

            Agent Donovan huffed “Alright then.” He said, going back to his plan “Now I know that New Britain is our town, so lets not try and step on any toes of the officers…don’t want to piss anybody off, or lost cooperation.” He said.

            They broke down into small groups, spreading throughout the small town in hopes that it would crack down on finding the cult sooner.

            Mike and Ryan walked out of the building, Agent Donovan didn’t allow them to leave and go on the hunt for Joe Carroll and his ‘friend’, which angered the both of them, especially since Ryan was the one who realized they were in town.

            “This is bull shit.” Mike remarked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the frames.

            Ryan smirked “Look, he’s just doing his job—you remember what happened last year!” he said.

            Mike knew Ryan had a point, but he didn’t want to admit it; he continued to huff as he started to pace around and let his anger boil inside of him.

            Ryan watched, crossing his arms as he did while Mike continued on before he suddenly stopped.

            Mike was angry and he wanted to be angry; but the more he thought about going out and trying to hunt Joe Carroll down and his cult, the more emotionally exhausted he was about it.

            He turned to Ryan who was waiting patiently for him, Mike shrugged as he took a deep breathe “I wonder what Deborah would do.” He muttered.

            Ryan smiled “I don’t know, probably do something along the lines of throw the rule book out the window and go out anyway.” He remarked.

            Mike laughed, he was silent as he looked out into the street of the town “You know, the past few months have been crazy.” He said.

            “Yeah, I know.” Ryan remarked.

            Mike nodded “I was so ready to move on from everything last year—but I guess the universe had other plans.” He remarked.

            “Hey, don’t let this get to you…we’ll find them, and then all of this will truly be over.” Ryan said.

            Mike shrugged “Yeah. I know.” He said, darting is eyes away from looking at Ryan or any other officers walking by.

            Ryan put a hand on his shoulder “…and it might be awhile, but you’ll get passed the whole Sarah thing, too. Trust me, I know this.” He told him.

            Mike nodded “Yeah, I know. It just…”

            “We don’t have to talk about it, Mike.” Ryan said.

            Mike sighed, nodding at Ryan as he let a smile escape; Ryan nodded back at him “Now, lets go find something to do while all those nobodies go searching.” He said, guiding Mike back inside the sheriffs office.

 

 

            She hadn’t left room since coming back from the diner; Sarah laid in her bed and ignored the chatter and laughter that was coming from the living room.

            Sarah was honestly surprised that nobody came to check in on her, especially Mark.

            “ _God, he’s so creepy!_ ” Sarah thought to herself.

            In a weird way, Sarah was glad that she was being left alone; she thought of Mark coming in to check on her made her skin crawl.

            Just as she was letting the thought process more in her mind, she realized that there was silence taking over the house.

            Sarah looked at the door, contemplating if she should get off her bed and open the door; she was split on whether or not the group had just gotten quiet or if something had happened.

            “Fuck it.” She muttered, pushing herself off the bed and quietly opening her door to peek her head out to see that the group was staring at the front door while Emma was missing.

            Sarah slowly began to step out of her bedroom when she began to hear screaming and yelling and the front door being kicked in; the group of serial killers began to scatter around the house and Sarah took that chance to run back into her room and shut her door.

            She tried to think, panicking for a moment as she began to hear footsteps stomping their way down the hall; Sarah looked out her window and sighed, it was worth a shot.

            It was a struggle to open the door before it finally budged and just as the door began to open, Sarah threw herself out the window.

            She landed on the cold dirt, picking herself up and struggling to make her way across the yard and into the woods; her bare feet were already gaining cuts and scrapes as she began to run, now hoping that the police hadn’t seen her.

            Sarah continued to run, not caring how much pain she was in while she refused to look behind her; looking for the closest exit out of the woods and into a street or into a neighbors yard.

            Her lungs were starting to ache, she wanted to slow down but Sarah wasn’t sure if she could risk it when she suddenly heard someone coming up behind her.

            “SARAH!” she heard someone call behind her.

            Sarah turned behind her to see both Mark and Luke gaining way and following her.

            “Oh, no!” Sarah muttered, now trying to run away from the twins versus the police.

                                                                                       


	26. Chapter 26

            “Sarah, seriously! Slow down!” Luke called out, but Sarah did not slow down as she looked behind her to see how close Luke and Mark were behind her when she tripped over a tree branch and fell.

            She could hear the twins quickly approaching her, picking her up off the floor “Now is not the time for a nap, Sarah, lets go!” Luke remarked as both he and his brother began to drag her cross the woods.

            Sarah began to walk again, but the twins wouldn’t let her go as they made their way across the woods and onto the free way.

            “Now what, genius?” Sarah asked as Luke looked around the freeway before he motioned his brother to begin walking along the freeway.

            Mark looked down at Sarahs’ feet, seeing them bloody and slightly swelling as he tugged her away from his brother and picked her up, now carrying her as they walked down the freeway.

            Luke looked around the empty street as they continued to walk “Well, if anything else, I think we lost the cavalry.” He said with a light chuckle, both Mark and Sarah turned to him in an unapproving before looking straight ahead at the road.

            They walked for at least two miles before they could see car headlights approaching them swiftly, they moved out of the way as the car passed before abruptly stopping.

            Sarah squirmed out of Marks’ arms, limping her way to the truck and smiling at the driver “Hi.” She muttered.

            The driver smiled at her “Hello, you need a ride?” he asked her.

            Luke came up behind her “Yeah.” He said with a light smile before knocking the man in the jaw and pulling him out of the car.

            Sarah gasped “Luke! What the fuck??” she remarked.

            “He will live. Now get in the car!” he said, reaching out for Sarah’s hand.

            Sarah sighed as she watched Mark get in on the other side, she took the twins’ hand and climbed into the truck.

 

           

            The call from the authorities that the hideout had been discovered, but the cult had scattered throughout the city was frustrating not just to Donovan but to Ryan and Mike and well.

            Mike tried hard not to glare harshly at his superior office, instead he turned to Ryan and huffed, crossing his arms and walking away from the both of them.

            Ryan smirked as he walked with Mike to the break room to grab a bottle of water, Mike glared at him before taking a sip of water “This is getting out of hand!” Mike remarked.

            His friend nodded “Nobody is disagreeing with you!” Ryan said.

            Mike shook his head “I’m trying to figure out how four people escape the custody of police!” he said before taking another sip of water.

            Ryan opened his mouth, about to speak when Agent Donovan walked in “Hardy, Weston…I want you two on patrol detail. We’ve setting up road blocks incase they’re trying to skip town.” He remarked.

            “That works for me.” Mike said, putting his bottled water down and walking past Donovan to get to work.

           

 

            It was getting dark and Luke was having a hard time finding a direction to go in what with all the new road blocks that appeared out of nowhere.

            “We can drive in circles all day!” Mark said.

            Luke nodded “I know that.”

            “So, then what are we going to do?” Mark asked him.

            Luke shrugged “I don’t know. Let me think for a minute.” He remarked as he began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel.

            He was silent as he continued to think, Sarah huffed as she turned on the radio and began trying to find music decent enough while Luke tried to come up with a plan.

            Luke turned to Sarah and smiled “Well, I’ve got nothing! What do you have?” he asked her.

            Sarah was left in awe as Luke and Mark both waited for a response from her; she sat back in her seat and looked at the empty street ahead of them as she began to think, her mind trying to cook up a plan.

            “…lets just go through one of the road blocks.” She said.

            “What? That’s all you’ve got?? ‘Yeah, Luke, lets just hand ourselves over to the cops’…fucking brilliant!” he remarked.

            Sarah sighed “No, we just…we change your look—your hair, make you look not so, well, you! Maybe that will give us a chance of getting the fuck out of here!” she nearly hissed at him.

            Luke looked past Sarah and at Mark, who thought about the plan before he shrugged his shoulders “We don’t have a lot of options left.” He said quietly.

            “Fine.” Luke said, giving in before he pulled the truck over to the side of the road then turned to Sarah “Do your worst.” He remarked.

 

            Sarah had parted Lukes’ hair significantly, hiding one of his eyes behind his bangs; Luke was frustrated with the look, but if it meant getting out of Little Britain, then he would try anything.

            Luke began to drive towards the road block while Mark and Sarah sat in their seats and let adrenaline take over in their stomachs when he finally stopped the car.

            They waited, their hearts racing as Luke slowly made his way towards the front of the road block; in an act of fear, Sarah took Marks’ hand as she watched the local authorities slowly approaching the truck.

            She looked down to see a hat on the floor of the truck, she picked it up and without thinking put it on; hoping that something as simple as a hat would hide her in plain sight.

            Luke rolled down the window “Hi, officer, what seems to be the problem?” he asked, trying to be coy while Sarah and Mark attempted to be transparent.

            The officer got straight to the point, asking for I.Ds which was immediately when it became obvious that the plan was falling apart and fast as Luke began to fumble with his words.

            “I.D sir?” the officer asked again.

            Luke smiled turning to Sarah and chuckled and he quickly turned back to the office, punched him in the face, and took off; crashing into several other cars as well as the parked police vehicles in the process.

            “Nice plan, Sarah—REALLY nice plan!” Luke said with distain in his voice as he began driving away and around the other drivers who were leaving the road block.

            Sarah huffed “HEY—at least I had a plan!” she hissed.

            Luke scuffed “This conversation isn’t over—but right now, it’s ending while I get us out of town!” he yelled.  


	27. Chapter 27

                It just kept getting better and better as a road block radioed in that three suspects in a red truck ran through the road block after being unable to give identification.

                “That’s got to be them.” Ryan said roughly as he drove down the road.

                “Half of them, anyway.” Mike reiterated.

                Ryan smirked as he continued to drive down the road, it turns out the road block they were stationed to had been destroyed by the red truck; they just hoped that somebody went after them.

                They got to the road block only to find that traffic had been backed up, Ryan pulled out into the curb and began driving towards the road block and stopped, grabbing the attention of an officer who was clearly in charge.

                “Do you have a unit going after the suspects?” Ryan asked the officer.

                The officer nodded “Yes, we’ve got two units going after them.” He remarked.

                Ryan nodded “Okay, let us through, we’re gonna try and catch up.” He said, watching the office move a rod out of the way and let Ryan pass by.

                He picked up the pace, speeding his way across the freeway as he slowly began to catch up with the other units in front of them.

                “Here’s to hoping, they crash into something!” Ryan said, turning to Mike.

                Mike nodded “Or, you know…are slow runners.”

 

 

 

                Sarah and Luke continued to argue for a couple of miles before the truck jerked forward and began to slow down, alerting the three cult members.

                Luke looked down at the gas meter and noticed that it was empty, and that the gas light had been on for a while; he scuffed as he pulled off to the side of the road and let the car die naturally.

                “Well, this is just great!” Luke said sarcastically.

                Sarah scuffed, pushing Mark out of the way as she exited the car and began walking into the woods, the twins looked at each other before Luke got out of the car as well and followed her.

                “And where exactly are you going?” he asked, following her as she walked through the woods.

                Sarah looked over her shoulder “I’m not going to let a broken down truck stop me from getting away!” she remarked.

                Luke huffed, turning to his brother and motioning him to follow as Sarah walked further into the woods; the sound of police sirens were beginning to be heard from a distance which made the twins uneasy.

                “So we’re just going to run through the woods until we get lost, is that your brilliant new plan, huh?” Luke remarked, flailing his arms around he followed Sarah who was quiet as ever.

                Mark finally caught up, walking with his brother while the sirens began to get closer and closer to them, causing Luke to walk up to Sarah and grab her arm “What are we going to do?” he hissed at her.

                Sarah tugged at her arm “We’re gonna run for it—and hope to god that they don’t catch up!” she said, pulling her arm back and away from Luke before she began to pick up the pace.

                The twins continued to follow despite Lukes’ claims of how all of this was useless and that he should have never listened to Sarah.

                She ignored them both as she walked through the wood, hearing the sirens get louder and louder, and then quit moving; she knew then that they had found the car and were determining which way they went.

                “ _They’ll split up, and it’ll take them even longer to find us._ ” Sarah thought as she continued to fast walk her way through the woods.

               

 

               

                Ryan and Mike pulled up against the officers vehicles as they looked inside the truck but nothing was in there, the officers split up as did Ryan and Mike; one group going one way into the woods, and another rushing across the street to the other side of the woods.

                Mike drew his gun as he rushed with the officers into the woods; he looked down to notice a small trail of bloody footprints as he turned to an officer and told him to radio the other team, that they were walking ‘this way’.

                The young agent looked up to find the perfect opportunity; through the thick trees he saw a tiny figure fall forward and then pick themselves up and began to run.

                “FBI, FREEZE!” he yelled, running again and hoping that the officers would be able to keep up as he got closer and closer to the twins and Sarah who were now sprinting away.

                Mike shot his gun, shooting a warning shot and watched as Sarah fell forward again, then watched as the two men with her picked her up and began to drag her.

                He was close, slowing them down every few feet helped to his advantage as he finally caught up to the followers and aimed his gun at them “Freeze, or I will shoot you!” he yelled.

                They stopped, a mere 5 feet away from Mike as they put their hands up and slowly turned around to face Mike and the approaching officers who just couldn’t keep up.

                “Michael.” Sarah muttered, taking a step forward.

                Mike aimed his gun at her “I said ‘freeze’.” He hissed.

                Sarah sighed as she stopped in her tracks, keeping her hands raised when Mark took a step forward as well “Don’t point that thing at her.” He said in a low snarl.

                “Luke Taylor, nice to make your acquaintance.” He said, approaching Mark slowly when Luke came up from behind Sarah and smirked.

                “Actually, I’m Luke Taylor, that’s my brother, Mark. Finally nice to meet the famous Mike Weston, Sarah’s told us so much about you.” Luke said with his infamous smirk.

                Mike stopped in his tracks, turning to Luke which gave Mark the opportunity to attempt to lunge at the agent; the young agent turned back to Mark and shot him point blank, the twin going down and remaining motionless.

                Sarah screamed, and Luke stood in shock as he stared at his brothers’ lifeless body; he looked up at Mike, nostrils flared “YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!” he yelled, now lunging at Mike who shot him as well, watching him fall to the ground.

                Mike sighed, mentally telling himself how much paper work there was going to be from this as well as another investigation into him “ _At least I’ve got witnesses who can justify this.”_ He thought to himself before he looked up at Sarah.

                She had tears falling from her face as she looked at Mike “Don’t shoot me.” She told him through tears.

                Mike shook his head “I’m not going to shoot you if you stand still,” he said before approaching her “Turn around, hands behind your back.” He demanded as he did.

                Sarah did as she was told, feeling Mikes’ hands take her wrists and cuff her before he turned her back around and began escorting her to the freeway once again.


	28. Chapter 28

            

            Sarah was in the back of the police car while as she watched Donovan speak to Mike and Ryan; it was a weird concept to her but at that moment in time she couldn’t care less.

            It was obvious to both Mike and Ryan that despite Donovans’ effort to congratulate them for catching Mark and Luke Taylor as well as Sarah, he was going to take full credit for all of it.

            Another unit had caught Emma Hill, but Joe Carroll was still on the run; it put tensions high, especially for Donovan his jaw was clenched while speaking to Ryan and Mike.

            He walked away, beginning to speak with another set of agents whose jobs it was to try and locate Joe Carroll, but the sun was gone and nightfall had come, making it easy for the infamous killer to hide out.

            Mike sighed, his arms crossed as he looked out into the occupied freeway that was completely taken over my FBI and local authorities and their vehicles.

            “So, how you feeling?” Ryan asked him.

            Mike shrugged “You know, I shot the first twin and didn’t really think of the repercussions of it at all—and then I shot the other one and I just had a huge flash back of what happened last year. Next few months are going to be a bitch.” He remarked.

            Ryan smirked “Well, at least you were conscious—and you’ve got hose two deputies over there who will back you up. I wouldn’t worry too much into it.” He said, assuring Mike as he put a hand on his shoulder.

            The young agent turned towards the sea of cars, spotting Sarah in the backseat of a local authority vehicle. Sarah was calm and didn’t look angry or sad as she looked through the window and admired the action going on around her.

            Sarah glanced over at Mike and they locked eyes for a moment, Mikes’ breathing became shallow as Sarahs’ brown eyes looked deep into his soul.

            Mike blinked and looked away from Sarah and back at Ryan who had followed Mikes’ eyes “You still love her?” he asked.

            “I don’t know.” Mike remarked, crossing his arms as he tried to avoid looking back over at Sarah.

            Ryan nodded in understanding “I’d say that you’ll get over her—but I’d be lying. I mean, I’m still getting over Claire, I mean, I know that the circumstances are different for you, but still.” Ryan said, realizing that he was beginning to ramble.

            Mike nodded “No. No. It is. It’s the same thing I guess.” He said, trying to make Ryan feel not so much like an idiot.

            Ryan smiled “I’m sorry about Sarah.” He muttered.

            Mike shrugged “Well, it is what it is. I mean, it was nice while it lasted.” He said, almost trying to make himself feel better.

            They stood in silence, kicking at sticks while they took a breather for the first time in several days before Agent Donovan came back over to the two of them, putting his hands in his pockets.

            “Unfortunately, while we caught his little posse, we have been unable to locate Carroll in town.” He said.

            Mike crossed his arms “So maybe he’s a few towns over, I mean how far can he get?” he suggested.

            “No—Weston, you’re going to go back to headquarters.” Agent Donovan remarked, pointing a finger at Mike “You’ve got several weeks of paper work ahead of you.” He said.

            Mike tried not to let a laugh out as he bit the inside of his cheek before turning to Ryan, then back at Donovan “Yes, sir.” He said, waiting for Donovan to leave once again to go back to the other agents.

            “I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to do paper work.” Mike admitted to himself.

            Ryan chuckled, putting an arm around his young friend “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He said, walking with his friend towards the SUV.

            “Hey, how about I drive, let you catch a couple of Z’s before you start all that paper work?” Ryan asked as he climbed into the car.

            Mike smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat “Ok. That sounds good. Warning you now though, I might drool…or snore.” He admitted.

            Ryan started the car and put it into drive “I don’t care.” He said before pulling the car away from the side of the road and began driving down the freeway and back to New York.

            There was silent in the car as Mike rested his head against his seat belt, his arms crossed as his legs stretched as far as they could in the seat before he hummed to get Ryans’ attention.

            “I almost forgot to ask, how’s Lily?” Mike asked.

            Ryan smirked “She’s good. She’s still pissed about me just randomly disappearing, but she’s good.” He said.

            Mike remained in place as he continued to rest against his seat belt “Well, that’s good.” He muttered.

            “Yeah. It is.” Ryan said, turning on the radio and enjoying the peaceful ride home.

 


End file.
